There’s no doubting that MIMS has one of the hottest songs in the country.  His first single, “This Is Why I’m Hot”, is a bona fide hit.  However when a rapper achieves such early commercial success, he runs the risk of being a “one hit wonder”.  With his debut album, Music Is My Savior, MIMS attempts to ride the wave that his single started.  Unfortunately, there are enough missteps on this album to suggest that his best days might already be behind him.

   One of the biggest flaws is the sheer lack of creativity.  Rather than make a complete album, MIMS attempts to make a collection of singles formulated to have the same type of pop appeal as his lead single.  He even refers to “This Is Why I’m Hot” on three other songs, not to mention actually sampling it on “They Don’t Wanna Play”.  Lyrically, MIMS leaves much to be desired.  His flow and word play are very elementary (think Young Jeezy) and often come off as predictable and corny. (“I travel the globe/ but no I’m not a trotter.”  Ahem.) The hooks also share the same simplistic characteristics.  On “Girlfriend’s Fav MC”, singer J Holiday belts out, “She’s all into me, like a wrist in a bracelet.”  Often using the same words to end punchlines and at times not even rhyming them, it’s clear that his lyrics were a secondary focus. 

   There really isn’t anything that a listener can hang his hat on.  The production on the album is average at best.  Other than the lead single, most of the beats are mainly interchangeable and that gives the album a monotonous feel.  Nearly all of the tracks are regurgitated Hip-Hop clichés and without a strong lyrical performance to support his swagger, MIMS’ braggadocios attitude is annoying and overbearing.

   This album is the result of an artist chasing album sales rather than creating quality music.  You have to wait until the 15th track, “Don’t Cry (Outro)”, to get an idea of who MIMS actually is.  On this song he illustrates his humble beginnings and inspires others not to give up when times are tough.  The other beacon of light is the soulful, “Where I Belong”, where he describes his view of a perfect world a la Nas in “If I Ruled the World”.  These are the only two songs on the album where the content has any depth. 

   For an emcee to say that he plans to “bring New York back”, you’d expect to leave with more than how fly MIMS feels he is.  The first few lines of “This Is Why I’m Hot” pretty much sum it up, “This is why I’m hot/ I ain’t gotta rap/ I could sell a mill/ sayin’ nothing on the track.”  This album is great if you are looking to add a ringtone, but expecting more than that will leave you disappointed.