As with 'BAD', this begins with fire. 'Droppin' Em' will definitely get your head bangin'. Again though, as with BAD, from the opener, the production drops off, feeling more like something from closer to the mid '80s for the next couple of songs.
'Nitro' get back to the feeling of the feeling of the first track, with a harder, high tempo beat and spitting. 'You're My Heart' seems to be going for that 'I Need Love' feel, and is a quick skip from me. 'I'm That Type of Guy' is fantastic. The dark beat and way its rapped makes it unique plus the additional production changes make it stand out. However, it would be even better without the “O-Ee-Yah! Eoh-Ah!” vocals during the chorus. The following 'Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?' is dope. 8 songs in, this is already his best album from his first three. 'One Shot At Love' is another love song and doesn't too well either. Why do all of L's early love songs sound like lullabies? The socially-conscious call to arms rap-rock closer 'Change Your Ways' is a disappointing way to end the album.
I don't have a lot of '80s hip hop albums rated very highly, as the production often leaves me uninspired, but enough of this is great. LL is a fantastic rapper and demonstrates it on numerous occasions. There are some missteps, largely with the soft love songs, and one or two songs like 'Jealous' that don't do enough musically, but this album deserves to have a better reputation. I've increased my rating of it after revisiting it many years after my first listen. It's ridiculous that I read that this received a poor reception from fans when it dropped because of a couple of soft songs when there are over 10 dope boom bap/hardcore hip hop songs.
Beats: ★★★☆
Rapping/Bars: ★★★★☆
Hooks: ★★★☆
Best Tracks: Droppin' Em, Nitro, I'm That Type of Guy, Why Do You Think They Call It Dope?, It Gets No Rougher, Jingling Baby, Def Jam in the Motherland
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