**1/2 Redman

DOC'S DA NAME

(Def Jam)

Since he emerged in 1991 with Whut?, Def Squad member Redman has kept funkadelic hip-hop fresh with his deft rhymes, magnetic presence, and bombastic beats. Doc's Da Name, his fourth full-length, is a hip-hop epic -- 24 tracks in 70 minutes. As usual, Erick Sermon backs Redman up with an uneven mix of P-Funk-derived beats ranging from the bland ("Get It Love," "Keep On '99") to the likably familiar ("Brick City Mashin' " and "Jersey Yo!"). For a change of pace, he teams up with drum 'n' bass master Roni Size on the album closer, "I Got a Secret," kicking rhymes double time amid an electronic storm of jungle beats. But even when the music drags, Redman more than makes up for production shortcomings with his domineering soopa-hero presence on the mike, leaving his Def Squad compatriots Sermon and Keith Murray in the digital dust.

-- Oliver Wang