The opener, with the 'Time After Time' interpolation, is an underwhelming start but it improves. Like he does on anything he's on, Mystikal steals the show on songs like 'Watch Me' with his amazing energy and delivery. It's a shame we've hardly heard a peep from him since he's been out of jail. I don't have a heap else to say about this album that I haven't about other No Limit projects. It's not a difficult listen by any means, and is quite consistently solid-good but not enough goes past that. Some of the hooks could be more memorable, and twins, Kane and Abel, don't have anything to make them stand out as rappers. 3.5-3 / 5 Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Tryin 2 Have Sumthin', Soldier Story, Stress, Watch Me, Bout That Combat, No Turnin Back, Gangstafied Forever, Let's Go Get Em

I went into this album without expecting anything and I have been pleasantly surprised. Black is a good storyteller and has a voice a tad reminiscent of Biggie. While pop rap exists here, most still maintains a 'street' sound that fits close enough with what the harder songs on the album sound like. Given it's a Bad Boy album from the year 2000, the production is stronger than expected and songs where the beat switches up like on the title track rarely ever used to happen in hip hop. What doesn't work? I don't love 'Thug Story' that B.R.'s version of Slick Rick's 'Children's Story'. It uses the exact same instrumentation so it's not as creative as it should be. The single, Espacio', has an unlikable, annoying hook which is a shame as the beat bangs. Other songs like the closer and 'You Don't Know Me', both with Joe Hooker providing the chorus, could use a better hook. And I guess all of the interludes that get in the way. Those aside, while there is no top 500 hip hop song here, it's a consistent body of work. Well worth checking out. Beats: ★★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Whoa!, Lookin' at Us, B.R., I Love You Baby

Mystikal kills 'Do You Know?' as does UGK 'Slangin''. 'Walk Like a "G"' reminds me of Juvenile's 'Ha'. 'For the N.O.' is another song with some interesting thumping production. The closer is one of the strongest tunes as well with Fiend getting introspective as he does on a few songs. I've been checking out a few No Limit records of late and this is one of the better ones. It's very consistent with some great moments. As with most No Limit records, it does feel like a collaborative effort with many features. A number of the best moments are when the featuring artists jump on board and offer something more unique than Fiend can provide. Mystikal's verse is a great examples of that. No one sounds like him. It's the same case with Bun B on 'Slangin''. Fiend and many of the No Limit soldiers don't have that original voice to stand out from the crowd. I've thought about giving this a 4/5 but some of the songs probably just needed something extra for me to do that. 3.5-4/5. Best Tracks: Take My Pain, Do You Know?, The Baddest, All in a Week, Slangin', Walk Like a "G", For the N.O., Live Me Long

This is basically as 3.5/5 as it gets. It's consistently good with a few highlights, but the highlights aren't good enough to earn this a 4. As I've said with previous No Limit records, the production, while a little original, isn't amazing, and the rapping/voice, etc of the rapper isn't amongst the best of the best. 'How Ya Do That' is the most famous song from this, but 'Better Than the Last Time' is my pick. Best Track: Mo Money, Pull If Off, Times So Hard, Better Than the Last Time, Lil Poppa Got a Brand New Bag

Based on a true story as told in the book of the same name by Richard Gambino. This tells the story of a group of Italians who were trialed over the murder of a police officer in New Orleans. It's a decent tale in the first half but comes into its own in the third act once they get into the court room and (not to spoil it) the following events unfold.