A fairly honorable remix album from Joey Fingaz & The Chemical Kickdrums. They put their own beats to Nas' joints and add in featuring artists verses also. Apart from a few tunes, everything works quite well. It's done with clean verses though, so particularly on the third verse of 'The Cross', you have a lot of the blank moments. Best Tracks: The Cross (CK original remix) King of New York (feat. Jay-Z) (CK original remix) - Ether and Takeover acapellas are cut up and it's like Jay and Nas are battling, each trading lines with each other. Got Yourself a Gun (feat. 50 Cent) (CK original remix) Nas Is Like (feat. Big L) (CK original remix) One Love (CK original remix) Get Down (feat. Kool G Rap) (CK original remix)

An interesting remix album with some of Nas' best mixed over beats from the far east I guess... Most of it works pretty well with the best track 'Rule' surpassing the original. The music gives it a really good jazzy vibe. 'Where Y'all At' also works excellently offering a very different feel to what was the street single to Hip Hop Is Dead. Best Tracks: Rule (AjapS Remix), Where Y'all At (Jugg Remix), Life's A Bitch (Jugg Remix), Fast Life (Jugg Remix)

I don't get some of the hate for this. I have always enjoyed a few songs a lot thanks to the laid-back vibey production much of this has, and the album is so short that it certainly doesn't overstay its welcome. There are some recognisable vocal samples from Biggie and Dre towards the end of the album but lyrically there isn't anything interesting. 'Money, Power and Fame (Three Thangs Thats Necessities)' reminds me of LL's 'I Need Love' and was the one song that at first I didn't like but it's grown on me. The vocals, including a guest appearance from Aaliyah, are nice, and, add to the chill/laid back feel that the beats provide. Delete the skits and it's a nice easy listen. Beats: ★★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Tonite's Tha Night, Young, Rich and Dangerous, Live and Die for Hip Hop

Where do you start with this album? While money is being made off a dead legend, it was always going to happen, and with the reported $250 million ten album deal there will be lots more to come. Being a fan and hearing all about the perfectionist Michael was, he wouldn't have wanted something released without his tick of approval. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but eagerly await this album, because in reality for over thirty years as a solo artist, he put out a very small amount of material when you think about it. 'Off the Wall' was released thirty years prior to his death and only five albums eventuated in that time. Where every track came from and how much each has been reworked is unknown. It feels some vocals were not the finished product. 'Breaking News' is an obvious one as it doesn't sound exactly like Michael on the verses, which has caused some controversy, the more I listen the less I feel this, but certainly on the first listen I was suspicious. Also, some of the laughs and adlibs such as the ones on 'Monster' to me make me ask the question of fabrication. There also seems to be a large variation in time on where these came from. 'Behind the Mask' and 'Much Too Soon' are leftovers from 'Thriller', where 'Breaking News' and '(I Can't Make It) Another Day' sound like very recent MJ. On to the songs and track for track it ain't bad with ten fairly good tunes, the 42 minutes still fly by for me after many listens, and while incomparable to all of his prior adult albums, it's all quite solid. 'Hold My Hand' is a nice uplifting tune, but really feels more like an Akon song. 'Hollywood Tonight' apparently a leftover for 2001's 'Invincible' sounds a lil Streetwalkerish, is very funky, and one of the best tracks. 'Keep Your Head Up' feels very much like 'Cry' from 'Invincible'. '(I Like) The Way You Love Me' is another reasonable ballad which again is a bit like Cry, and begins with MJ singing acapella and beat-boxing his ideas for the track which is a nice touch. 'Monster' is the most aggressive track that has been compared to 'Scream', it's enjoyable but fails to work as well - Lyrically it is about the media/paparazzi being the vultures they are - "When you look up in the air there's a monster, Paparazzi got you scared like a monster, monster, monster." 'Best of Joy' continues from '(I Like) The Way You Love Me' and is another nice ballad, if nothing too outstanding. Next, the leading single 'Breaking News' has really grown on me, lyrically follows on from 'Monster' about the media which was a frequent theme on 'HIStory'. Although vocally there seems to have been some work done, or isn't all MJ, I can't help but really enjoy the hip hop-ish beat. 'Another Day's' snippet leaked in 2008 and works also as it switches the intensity from the chorus and verses. It's nothing great but comfortably gets the job done. 'Behind the Mask' is another disco kind of track and one of the best here that would have fit perfectly on 'Off the Wall', and is apparently a partial cover from Yellow Magic Orchestra. And finally 'Much Too Soon' has been getting the most praise from reviews I've been seeing. Its a very simple short ballad which I enjoy but I would have liked a tad more musical pop. Given Michael released so little to the public, there must be much more great stuff one would think. However, you would assume given the deal struck with Michael's estate that Sonic/Epic will really diffuse all his stuff to not be left with nothing worthwhile toward the end of the deal. So I wouldn't expect to be giving any of his posthumous albums a perfect rating, but I'd expect them to be solid, as this is. Some of the ballads fall behind their predecessors, but the upbeat songs work well for me, and while there isn't one truly brilliant Jackson track here, I'm not too disappointed with this. It's a very easy listen and if you rate it for what it is and don't compare it with Jackson's earlier masterpieces it deserves a reasonable rating. Best Tracks: Hollywood Tonight, Breaking News, (I Can't Make It) Another Day, Behind the Mask.

After the first listen I found this to be underwhelming, which is probably a common feeling when it comes to an album with many songs, but it developed into being such an easy listen. There isn't a track long enough to get boring or a run of bad tracks to make me want to turn this off. There are a lot of songs but it's only 8 minutes longer than a lot of single disc full albums used to be. If you want to whinge about a long project that is hard to digest, check out the recently released 'Ménage à trois: Sextape' from The-Dream. Zayn's debut was an album I went into with low expectations (that cover, ughh) but it ended up being a huge surprise. This doesn't touch the high moments of that album but there are many catchy hooks making for a lot of replay value among the 27 songs. Best Tracks: Common, Tonight, There You Are, Scripted