The production is a product of its time, and for the most part, that isn't a good thing. A number of the beats fit in perfectly with the 'Shiny Suit Era' that many people talk about. 'It Is What It Is' is one of my favourites from the album, so I'm not knocking the beat, but it gives off a strong 'Sky's the Limit' feel from Bad Boy's Biggie. There are some pop moments here, that after his debut is surprising, but when he is offering some more lyrical depth on songs like 'Interview With a Vampire', the beat just isn't interesting. In my opinion this is a similar problem that 'Soul on Ice' has. I mentioned in my review of his debut that while he is known for his lyricism, I don't rate him that highly in other areas of rapping. It's rarely a hard listen, but the high moments aren't high enough. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Rasassination, Ghetto Fabulous, It Is What It Is, All or Nuthin'

For me, Birdman/Baby has released one good solo album that was, 'Fast Money', the other two and now three are fairly boring albums. Lyrically there is no variety, most of the beats ain't good enough for the lyrics to be one dimensional, and none of the featuring verses are memorable. Nice ride on the cover though. Best Tracks: Intro, Been About Money, Money Machine, 4 My Town (Play Ball), Shinin'

I would argue that Curtis raps better here than he would on his future songs where his ability to spit fast seemed to decrease. I guess getting shot in the mouth can have that effect. His voice is also a touch different, but it's not extremely noticeable. Produced predominantly by The Trackmasters, the beats aren't bad, but few stand out and don't match what 50 got on Aftermath years later. There are also times here that remind me of aspects of songs he'd release years later. The best moments for me are 'Ghetto Qu'ran', that is rapped well, and the 'Da Repercussions', that is one of his best bangin' songs he has created in my opinion. Best Tracks: Ghetto Qu'ran (Forgive Me), Da Repercussions, Slow Doe, Power of the Dollar, I'm a Hustler, How to Rob.

This is another great project from Naughty By Nature as far as I'm concerned. Not that it means a lot these days but this one won them the first Grammy for best rap album. They were the masters at making rap anthems that maintained a street sound while also appealing to the pop audience, and although not done a lot, they could also make songs with a message. 'Clap Yo Hands'-which uses a sample that they already used on 'Rhyme'll Shine On' on their Naughty debut-, 'Craziest' and 'Feel Me Flow' are some of Naughty's best anthems, being strong chorus based tracks. 'Sunshine' is a good sexual themed tune which follows the pattern of 'Written on a Kitten' from their previous album and works well. All of the rappers flow like a river over the 'Hang Out and Hustle' beat. Minnesota did an excellent job at making 'City of Ci-Lo' feel like you're on a gritty city street corner. 'Connections' is the one real aggressive banger on the album, like Wild Muthaf---as is on 'Icons', however 'Klickow-Klickow' isn't far behind and also goes hard. There is a lot of heat here with many sounds present as well, even though it's handled largely by one producer, Kay Gee, who remains incredibly underrated. The only tracks I lack to feel much on this disc are towards the end of the album. 'Slang Bang', has a weak hook, however Treach and Vinnie trade bars well over the verses, and 'Shout Out', has lyrics that are often just left to the liner notes of an album. While it features decent enough production, we probably didn't need a seven-minute shoutout track. For me, they hit it out of the park with their first three Naughty albums. I probably revisit this one the most though. Beats: ★★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★★☆ Best Tracks: Clap Yo Hands, It's Workin', Feel Me Flow, Craziest

I'd heard 'Is It Real (My Mind Still Playin' Tricks on Me)' on a '90s hip hop compilation by chance when playing stuff from Spotify and loved it so I thought that I needed to give this a listen. I've talked about how much I like 'Is It Real'. I think one of the reasons is the contrast between the nicely sung hook and the hard bars. Cube is always a welcome addition on any '90s song and adds to the title track. The hook is basically nothing though, which will be a common theme of this review. The beat is basically just left to ride. 'Rap Rehab' is a decent humorous skit about Willie perhaps not selling the number of records that he thought he would when he went solo. 'Throat' and 'Something Good' are sex tracks. 'Throat' is okay but the hook on the latter isn't something I can really sing along with... 'Guess My Religion' picks it up being topically one the best tunes. Willie talks about the things he laments about religion. Again, though, the hook is just a boring sentence repeated a few times. 'Guess My Religion' returns to a nicely sung hook with synth production. 'I Wanna Fuck Your Mama' is pretty humorous with Willie not scared to touch any topic! "Hit her with this big fat cock and let your daddy watch/What a great adventure/When I make her suck my dick and knock out them dentures." Again, the beat just rides between the verses, as it does on 'Smoke'm'. 'They Laphin' Atcha' is one example where it's basically just laughter and 'Niggas Are Dyin'' is another where the chorus is a child's near-incomprehensible talking. My initial inclination was to 3.5/5 this and I still will as Willie D is entertaining and the production is likeable but the choruses stop this from being anything better. Beats: ★★★☆ Bars: ★★★★☆ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: Is It Real, Play Witcha Mama, Guess My Religion, U Got Homeboys, We Got Homeboys, I Ain't Changin' Shit