PARIS “Sleeping With the Enemy” , <i> Scarface</i> * * * 1/2

There’s as much anger, frustration and venom on this album as you’ll find on any three gangsta rap collections. This bold, intelligent rapper is in a class with Ice Cube, Ice-T and Chuck D. when it comes to eloquently and forcefully delivering messages about the plight of ghettoized African-Americans.

At times Paris can be a dazzling rapper, spewing out his acidic lyrics at a jagged pace, backed by driving jazz/funk beats. He isn’t saying anything new in searing songs like “The Days of Old,” “House Niggas Bleed Too” and “Sleeping With the Enemy”--just scathingly reiterating that many ghetto dwellers are still poor and downtrodden in a land of plenty. But his messages are jolting because he’s so skilled at creating stark, unsettling dramas filled with blasts of rage that are occasionally tempered by waves of melancholy.

The showpiece of the album is the controversial “Bush Killa,” which Paris insists isn’t a call for assassination. Still, it’s as violent and hateful as N.W.A.’s “F--- Tha Police”--and has just as much impact. Over the top? Irresponsible? Maybe. But if you’re in tune with his attack on the President’s politics, “Bush Killa,” augmented by pounding drums, gunshots and screaming crowds, certainly works as a piece of riveting melodrama.