Maybe the trendy pink/black cover should have tipped me off.  Maybe the glittery stars on the front should have made me think twice.  But for whatever reason I walked into “The Pink Limousine EP” completely oblivious to what was in store for me.  Pigeon John & Flynn Adam’s alliance as Rootbeer was not what I expected.

It’s funny, then, that I could call “The Pink Limousine EP” a paradox, because though the mini-album surprised me by the end there was only one word I could think of: predictable.

 I’ve been a long time LA Symphony fan and swear by “classics” like “San Diego,” “Incomplete Thoughts,” or “Composition No. 1.”  So I had high expectations when I was handed Rootbeer’s debut EP.  By the time I reached the car the case was unwrapped and within moments my ride was reverberating with the sounds of “The Pink Limousine.”

About halfway through the second track I was wondering whether I was listening to a watered-down N.E.R.D. album or poor-man’s Black Eyed Peas LP.  As “So Good” wound down and the CD started to loop back to the top I found myself compulsively stabbing the scan button with my finger, half-expecting a slew of hidden tracks not listed on the cover. There were none.  That was it?  I couldn’t help but feel a little let down.

I found “The Pink Limousine EP” to be a hollow pop album that didn’t really do much for me.  Repetitive hooks like “yeah I go loopy-loopy yeah I go loopy” and “girlies hit me up because the homie is famous” pretty much tell the story of a generally insipid EP that didn’t seem to say much at all.  I tried to give the album a couple spins to see if opinion would change but the more I listened to it, the more my disappointment grew.  Much to my chagrin the Teen Disney comparisons kept on sticking harder, and during some of the songs I half expected to see monkeys dressed in prime colors doing jigs with rainbows and funny cartoon characters bouncing around them (ironically the first track is titled “Chimpanzee”).  ”So Good” was about the only song that had any semblance of something substantial, but even that was probably not a song I’d set on repeat in my playlist.

As a disclaimer I actually have a strange bit of respect for pop music and its ability to inspire and reach the masses, but ‘The Pink Limousine EP” seemed like a half-hearted effort to produce some party tracks.  To be honest, if I’m going to satisfy my pop fix, I’d much rather go to artists who get it done right.  Why should I listen to Rootbeer when I could be enjoying the smooth, hypnotic melodies of Far East Movement, T-Pain, Lady Gaga, or Kanye West?  Pigeon John and Flynn have clearly shown that they have the skills and backbone most emcees can only dream of and have also been historically more playful with their work, but in the end, “The Pink Limousine EP” seemed like meaningless foray from a pair of extremely talented musicians.  I am not against the two teaming up to create a pop album with some catchy hooks; if that is their goal, I’m down to hear some tracks that can really move bodies in the club and inspire kids listening to the radio everywhere.  But unfortunately “The Pink Limousine EP” did neither.  I can justify listening to people talk about nothing if it’s at least done with style.  Was it fun?  Maybe.  Is it forgettable?  More likely.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for future Rootbeer projects.  Hopefully they can create something deeper or produce something truly pop.