Freeway's last 2 albums have been ones I've enjoyed to some degree. While I haven't been able to play them all the way through, they have had some dope tracks on 'em. I had 'Walk Wit Me' and 'It's Over' on my mp3 player for ages from 'Free at Last'. Philadelphia Freeway 2 probably doesn't have standouts like that, but it's the most consistent, which it probably should be for only containing nine proper songs - eight if you discount 'Keep You Hands Up' which is just a remix of 'Hands Up'. Nevertheless, I must be hearing what other people hating on this aren't, because I enjoy every song considerably and wouldn't wait to recommend this release. A very solid concise album with beats that talk to me and catchy hooks. Best Tracks: Gotz 2 Be tha Bomb, Around the World, Streets Won't Miss'em

Maybe I listened to Free's most recent project too much because some of the beats on this remind me of that, (particularly 'Throw Your Hands Up'). The production sounding similar to me must just be the type of beats Free likes because Jake One who produced this whole album had nothing to do with 'Philadelphia Freeway 2'. But I do think there is a similar type of vibe here, so for people who didn't like that but love this maybe another listen is needed. Vocally Freeway also doesn't give me as much enjoyment on the microphone either. Despite this negativity though, it is still a solid album, feels like an album and is fairly consistent all the way through. It's just that no track made me take a heap of notice to it throughout my few spins of the album which obviously limits its replayability. Best Tracks: She Makes Me Feel Alright, Never Gonna Change, Microphone Killa, Follow My Moves, Stimulus Outro.

I've always felt that this was slightly overrated. The first two songs are okay, but get a bit stale. Thanks to Nate Dogg's dark vocals on the hook, 'All My Life' is an improvement. Some of the following tracks sound like beats Jay would choose to rap over, which in my opinion isn't a good thing as more often than not I'm not a fan of his beat selection. It also gets poppier and weaker with 'On My Own' and 'We Get Around'. 'Life' and 'Full Effect' get the ball rolling again, with the latter being an eerie, darkly produced track, and the next song 'Turn Out the Lights (Freewest)', is one of two songs produced by Kanye and isn't bad either. One of the strongest run of tracks then occurs near the album's conclusion with 'You Don't Know' to 'Hear the Song' being standout cuts. The final two songs, particularly 'You Got Me' aren't worth typing much about. There are some good songs here, with some good beats and a unique rapper spitting over them. At the same time, I've never thought that this was a very consistent record, with there being too many slow moments to rank it highly. Best Tracks: All My Life, Full Effect, You Don't Know (In the Ghetto), Alright. Hear the Song

If anyone has come across the couple of other Wu albums I've reviewed, they would know I'm not the biggest fan of them and their associated artists as nothing I've heard I've really loved. Anyway, with this album, given my feelings on past Wu, I'm pretty happy with it. While much of it for me is just okay-good, there is some quality amongst it and I've got out of it what I expected to if not a tad more. It kicks off with the four guys trading lines in 'House of Flying Daggers' and then 'Sonny's Missing' sort of follows the same flow a good song but a bit below the preceding one. After the short track 'Pyrex Vision', it begins to heat up and then the enjoyment intensifies. 'Cold Outside' is good and then you get the best run of tracks to 'New Wu' which are all quality. From there it's a mix of good and okay tracks for me until my favourite in 'We Will Rob You'. I mentioned in my review of Mos Def's 'The Ecstatic', that Slick Rick needs to drop another album and this furthers those feelings. Even by just doing the chorus and adding his Children's Story theme to it, he adds a lot to the track. From there the Dre & Mark Batson produced track is disappointing. The beat sounds like stuff Dre has done a million times and I'm not feeling Busta's verse on it. From there, 'Mean Street' ain't bad and 'Kiss the Ring' is a good way to finish the album and fits into the category entitled best tracks. Overall, 'Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... Pt II' is closer to a 3.5 than a 2.5 out of 5 and would probably get that rating if a couple of the so-so tracks were up there with the tracks below. If you're a fan of Raewkon and the Wu, I think you would enjoy most of this so check it out. If not a huge fan like myself, it's still worth a listen. Best Tracks: Black Mozart, Gihad, New Wu, Canal Street, We Will Rob You, Kiss the Ring

Looking through my ratings there is definitely a pattern of RZA produced albums being rated lower than the average. Others praise him like he is the best thing that happened to hip hop, but his creations do not do enough for me often enough. In saying this, I enjoy a number of these beats more than some other material that I've heard, but there is still something about them that stop me loving them. The rapping is what you expect from a rapper from or affiliated with the Wu, great. 'Verbal Intercourse' kinds of sums it up for me. Some great rapping and verses, but does anyone actually think that this is a great beat? I couldn't give it more than 3.5/5 Best Tracks: Criminology, Ice Cream, Guillotine (Swordz)