Funkmaster Flex and Big Kap - The Tunnel (Def Jam) The Tunnel has become synonymous with New York's hip-hop glitterati. The now legendary night-club in Manhattan is not only a place to see some of hip-hop's biggest commercial stars, but is also a club-hit laboratory - what moves the crowd here is likely to move crowds anywhere. Had this CD just been a collection of The Tunnel's hip-hop favourites, one imagines it may have fared better. But resident DJs Funkmaster Flex and Big Kap have instead amassed hip-hop's reigning dons and given them new beats to rhyme over. Included are standards such as DMX, Nas, Method Man, Lil' Kim, Erick Sermon, Redman . . . no surprises here. It is a shame that Funkmaster Flex hasn't used his clout in hip-hop - his recognition of a track can usually make or break it in Billboard terms - to highlight the talents of new artists. The rappers themselves fare well enough - their work here is no better or worse than they usually do. Snoop does a nice job rhyming over classic beats from Notorious BIG, Mary J. Blige's track, Confrontation, is a sonorous break from the gangster posing nonsense that dominates the album, and Eminem's tirade on If I Get Locked Up is particularly intriguing. The best track here is a freestyle from Biggie and Tupac in their pre-rivalry days. Flex and Kap, though, have hardly exerted themselves on the musical front; the beats here are nod-worthy but simple. Ultimately, the album doesn't live up to its name.
