"Be Now, Be Ill, Be Down, Be Real" Even if this is stacked with features, and kind of feels like a producer album, isn't it great to have the greatest to do it back? When I first heard the lead single, 'Be Ill', I loved it immediately. It's classic boom bap. I don't love the way Kurupt flows on it, and Rakim is easily the best verse, but it's still dope overall. As each further song dropped, my anticipation waned as they don't match the aforementioned track, but there is still some worthwhile music here. Some may be surprised at seeing Rakim as the producer, but he did produce a lot of the Rakim & Eric B music, so he's always been doing it, and the beats are on point. The features are mostly nice, but some of their content doesn't fit with Rakim's usual message in hip hop. 'International' has an amazing hook that uses previous Rakim's lines that is a large reason why it's one of the best songs. This album/EP is so easy to just play on a loop. It's only 7 songs, but it's the most consistently enjoyable 2024 project I've heard so far. Here's to a new Rakim solo album where we hear more from him. Minus one point for having Lenard Larry McKelvey on the album. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Be Ill, Now Is the Time, International 1. Be Ill 94 2. Now Is the Time 80 3. Love Is the Message 72 4. God's Playground 62 5. Pendulum Swing 70 6. International 90 7. Sign of Se7en 74