ALBUM REVIEWS

* 1/2 Eightball & MJG, “On Top of the World,” Relativity/Suave. This is 15 tracks of menacing G-funk, but because of the mundane subject matter it rolls nowhere fast. Only with the inspirational anti-drug tale “Funk Mission” and the wet-glass smooth “Space-Age Pimpin” do these two Memphis mack-daddies make a name for themselves.

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** 1/2 The Click, “Game Related,” Jive/RCA. While thematically limited to the street-hustler ethic popularized by Bay Area legend Too Short, the Click manage to make an album that, at least on a musical level, is surprisingly good. Played live, with snapping snares, rock-steady bass and plunking rhythm guitars, “Game Related” has the ambience of a funky block-party concert played by a tight junkyard band.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).