The follow-up to Sex Love & Pain II, Savage marks the second time Durrell Babbs has released solo albums in consecutive years.

He hadn't done it since his first two full-lengths came out in 2001 and 2002.

Capitalizing on the commercial momentum of three straight number one R&B/hip-hop chart-toppers, Babbs refers to the previous set's "She wit the S***" and "I Love Ya" as the explicit, trap-styled template for the majority of these subtlety-free tracks.

He does it with a large group of beatmakers completely different from the cast on Sex Love & Pain II, including Cardiak, Swiff D, and Stronger contributors Da Internz, as well as a bunch of newcomers.

Lyrically, this is true to the title in its single-minded forcefulness -- materialistic propositions that reduce romance to a financial transaction, vows to beat it up, boxing metaphors, police detainment fantasies with actual cuffing, the works.

There are sleek, steely, predominantly lurching beats to match, with Babbs occasionally adopting a vocal approach akin to significantly younger, less technically proficient vocalists like Future and Migos.

The singer even has some fun with the terminology, detachedly boasting in the opener, "I'm a real fuckin' trapper/Once I set the trap, I be fuckin' somethin' after." This isn't quite as jarring as hearing a new jack swing album by an artist who debuted in the early '70s -- Babbs is genuinely plugged into the material with a voice at full, commanding power -- but the quality of the material is ultimately unexceptional.