Attenchun!

Atlanta rapper Bone Crusher is not likely to have trouble getting your “attenchun.” He’s 6'3", weighs over 300 pounds, sports a ubiquitous afro, and rhymes with the gruff authority of an ill-tempered drill sergeant barking through a megaphone. The question is whether he can keep your attention. “Never Scared,” the first single from his major-label debut, is a shout-along club banger that comes on like a street brawl. Raw, electronic beats stalk in the background as Mr. Crusher hollers the hook, “I ain’t never scared!” again and again. But while he plays the menacing ghetto thug about as well as anyone in hip-hop, Attenchun! is a little one-note. Cuts like “It’s Me (Lane to Lane)” and “Sound the Horn” follow the same formula, beating you over the head with grimy, stomping beats and Crusher’s brawny, roughhouse vocals. Only “Hate Ourselves,” his soulful turn with fellow Atlantans Goodie Mob, and the funky “Peaches & Cream” show a different side of him. Obviously, this guy can crush bones, but we’d like to see him put a few more back together.