Earl Simmons is one of the artists who I first heard when I was getting into hip hop. It was 'Where the Hood At' that first gained my attention with its controversial lyrics and gritty style. Since then, he has become one of my favourites, not for his brilliant lyricism or his great discography, which ain't his strengths in the game, but his style and originality. While Year of the Dog...Again doesn't have a huge amount of brilliant tracks, I think having heard his other albums it is one of his most consistent. The only track I'm not really enjoying is 'Come Thru (Move)', and not having skits is a plus also as I felt they didn't help with Grand Champ feeling overfilled. The rest of the tracks are ones I enjoy, particularly 'Lord Give Me a Sign' which I absolutely love and would put up there with D's best like 'Stop Being Greedy', and rank up there with one of my favourite songs of all time. Of all time! A lot of it isn't reaching new ground for DMX, but he is one of those artists that if I enjoy the beats and he's spitting hard, whether talking about f***ing someone up or God, I enjoy listening to him. A lot of this is hard as nails. I don't understand the lukewarm reception from DMX fans. Beats: ★★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★★ Best Tracks: Lord Give Me a Sign, Goodbye, I Run Shit, Life Be My Song