I'd been planning to check out more of Spice 1's catalogue for a while. This one starts off engagingly with the Pac dedication, the bumping weed appreciation song, good features from Ice T and $hort, the funky 'Playa Man', the errie 'Caught Up in My Gunplay' with Marvin Gaye's 'Anger' sample, the toe tapping 'Ballin'' and 'Tha Boss Mobsta', and more dope features with WC and Big Syke. - And we are only at track 8. The verses and beat are fine, with some engaging rapping too, but I don't love the hook of 'Fetty Chico and the Mack' that drops the quality a bit. The following 'Wanna Be a G' is one of the weaker moments with a slow drawn-out hook and then 'Diamonds' is better, but again, I don't love the hook, so that is where the quality drops off for a few songs. 'Down Payment on Heaven', that features a great chorus, is the obligatory song towards the end of a gangster rap album with some more soul and introspection before the hard '2 Hands & a Razorblade' closes the LP. I was surprised to see one of my favourites and underrated legends, Paris, on the producer list who handles five of the fourteen songs. If you haven't checked out his solo work and you like funky west coast hip hop, go and do yourself a favour. He didn't produce a lot for other artists, so it's always a pleasure to come across more of his work. The highs aren't as great as those on albums like 'AmeriKKKa's Nightmare', but the consistency is a winner proving Spice still had it many albums into his discography. Beats: ★★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★★ Best Tracks: The Thug in Me, Playa Man, Ballin', Tha Boss Mobsta, 510 213, Down Payment on Heaven 1. The Thug in Me (Dedicated to Tupac Shakur: R.I.P.) 93/100 2. I'm High 85 3. Recognize Game 84 4. Playa Man 90 5. Caught Up in My Gunplay 93 6. Ballin' 86 7. Tha Boss Mobsta 92 8. 510, 213 88 9. Kill Street Blues 73 10. Fetty Chico and the Mack 70 11. Wanna Be a G 60 12. Diamonds 72 13. Down Payment on Heaven 86 14. 2 Hands & a Razorblade 84

So my favourite R&B artist teamed up with the biggest name in hip hop/pop-rap. This concept was originally planned by R. Kelly to be with Pac at first when, according to Kelly, they bumped into each other outside a hotel in '96 and discussed it. From there, the plan turned to collaborating with Biggie. However, instead we have Jay-Z as the rapper. The two had previously collaborated successfully on 'Guilty Until Proven Innocent', 'We Ride' from the album 'R.' and the 'Fiesta Remix'. So the anticipation was probably high for this project back in '02, as all of those songs are pretty great. Unfortunately, not a lot works well enough to live up to any expectation though. 1. The Best of Both Worlds 53/100 "I eat Ether and breathe acid, weak bastards." This is the one reference to the Nas beef from what I hear. The first song is repetitive. It feels like a never-ending chorus and should have been half the length for the introduction. It tries to be epic but doesn't quite work. 2. Take You Home With Me 48/100 Like with the next song, these two chick oriented tracks are nothing to write home about. The chorus is okay, but the production is weak. 3. Break Up to Make Up 46/100 The version on 'Unfinished Business' is better. Average production and nothing great vocally from either artist. 4. It Ain't Personal 70/100 This one gets topically more serious and away from the pop-rap. There's better production than what has come before but it could still be better. I don't find Jay as a rapper to be very engaging who talks through this two verses. You'll like this song more if you are a bigger Jay-Z fan than I am. 5. The Streets 94/100 One of two solo produced R. Kelly tracks and he kills it. Like 'Don't Let Me Die' on their next album, there is just more passion in this one. It was the only song I remembered well upon revisiting this album from a long time ago. 6. Green Light 82/100 A high energy hip hop track that is one of the best. Dope chorus. Bangin' beat. 7. Naked 60/100 The one R. Kelly solo song also produced by him. It doesn't build up and erupt like the best R. Kelly ballads. The production is fairly light on with Kells basically going acapella for some of it. 8. Shake Ya Body 40/100 While the production is somewhat original, it's not very pleasing and I'm not big on the hook either. 9. Somebody's Girl 69/100 It's a closer contest than 'Break Up to Make Up', but the remix of this on 'Unfinished Business', 'She's Coming Home With Me', is better. Again, Kelly provides a catchy hook. 10. Get This Money 54/100 Comes and goes . There's nothing much to write about this one. 11. Shorty 40/100 As above. Apart from Kells' "Shorty!" vocals nothing excites. Average production and probably the worst song that doesn't sound like a lot of love went into the creation of it. There are elements of some great funk but they weren't developed. 12. Honey 70/100 This features the Bee Gees' 'Love You Inside Out' sample, which is hard not to enjoy somewhat, used more famously on 'Ups & Downs' by Snoop Dogg. 13. Pussy 63/100 Devin provides an enjoyable verse that helps, but the production doesn't quite do enough. Overall, the production, predominantly from Poke & Tone of the Trackmasters and R. Kelly, isn't brilliant. The sound isn't that diverse, and the attempt to suit both the singing and rapping probably contributed to this. As mentioned, 'The Streets' is the only song that I have played occasionally from this over the years. It's definitely not the worst thing in the world and is only so low due to people thinking they are making a difference by giving something by R. Kelly a 0. A decent 2/5. Their follow up, 'Unfinished Business' is the more consistent project. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Vocals/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: It Ain't Personal, The Streets, Green Light, Somebody's Girl, Honey

R. Kelly and Jay-Z's first collaborative effort, 'The Best of Both Worlds', was a let down, and was released around the time of R. Kelly's issues with legalities, so I guess this was take two on the artists' attempt to bring the best of both worlds together. This album is apparently comprised of unreleased songs from their first album, that would also serve as promotion for their tour. However, the tour was short lived with R. Kelly and Jay-Z taking shots at each other during the following years. I guess the two were never meant to be a true team. Although this is said to be predominantly made up of cuts that didn't make their first album, the quality is a touch higher in my opinion. One of the first things I've noticed is that the sound is more towards hip hop, whereas the 'The Best of Both Worlds' is more R&B sounding. This may be because R. Kelly had less to do with the production on these songs compared to the pair's debut with Tone of Trackmasters credited with most of the beats. Like 'The Streets' was on their debut as well, 'Don't Let Me Die' is in the same kind of vein and is by far the strongest song here. It has so much more energy and emotion than anything else here, not to mention layers in the production. It's like it's the only song that they put a lot of effort into. 1. The Return 69/100 See track 11. 2. Big Chips 50/100 Ehh. The production is weak here and vocally there is nothing to save for later. 3. We Got 'Em Goin' 70/100 A decent bangin' hip hop track with Kelly rapping and a catchy enough hook. 4. She's Coming Home with Me 75/100 More Kelly rapping here. It's interesting with a collaboration between a rapper and a singer that Kelly does so much rapping on this album. Another catchy hook sung by Kells backed by a toe tapping melody. Part 2 of 'Somebody's Girl' from 'The Best of Both Worlds' as Jay says. 5. Feelin' You in Stereo 56/100 This is the one solo R. Kelly produced song and you can pick it from the jump. It sounds similar to some songs from the album 'TP.3 Reloaded' from 2005 and also has his signature figurative language touches. It's nowhere near his best though. Jay jumps in for a low effort quick eight bars towards the end of the song. 6. Stop 60/100 Another with more of a hip hop feel to it. It feels like a sample but I'm not sure it is. This one is safe and feels a bit too monotonous. Kelly takes shots at Sisqo who he felt disrespected him by claiming to shut R&B down. "20's on the drop/ Blue and yellow rocks/ Keke yelling stop/ Sisqó's album flopped." 7. Mo' Money 51/100 A remix of 'Get This Money' from 'The Best of Both Worlds' 8. Pretty Girls 73/100 Similarly to 'She's Coming Home with Me', there is a catchy melody and good hook. 9. Break Up (That's All We Do) 75/100 10. Don't Let Me Die 95/100 The choir, the way the song seems more like a collaboration between the two artists than a number of other songs, the passion in Kelly's vocals, etc. It all just comes together to make this the best track here and probably the best track from the two Jay/Kelly collab albums. 11. The Return (Remix) 75/100 Where in the original, Kelly sings putting on a Slick Rick accent, here we have the man himself. This adds to the original by adding Slick Rick and some beat boxing by Doug E. Fresh with Kelly singing over it that should've gone on longer. It plays as a homage to the legends and hip hop. I know I'm meant to give this album a 0 to show how sanctimonious I am, but nothing is bad here. Although this isn't his greatest vocal performance by any means, R. Kelly does most of the heavy lifting, which is a good thing as he is the more talented artist of the two, and there is enough to like. It's a consistently decent project. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Vocals/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: She's Coming Home With Me, Pretty Girls, Break Up (That's All We Do), Don't Let Me Die, The Return (Remix)

T-Rock never stops as he drops another project just a month after his collaboration with Twisted Insane. Unfortunately 'Abort Da Mission' sounds like Rock recorded it in a plane. It was the second song he released on his YouTube channel, so maybe he wanted it to sound gritty? I don't know... The rest of the album is mastered fine. There are some tracks that don't wow me, but he is just such a talented rapper that few in the game have ever ridden a beat as well. The way he just starts spitting on 'Solid' after the introductory chorus is fire. While a lot of T-Rock's catalogue is g-rap, he always includes some intelligent consciousness as he does on 'Biological Warfare' on this project. Best Tracks: Make a Plan, Biological Warfare, Solid, I'm Back, Bounce Back

This album drops off in the middle with 'Kick It Wit You', 'C-Bonics' & 'Bellybutton' being nothing great, but since this dropped in '05, I've always gotten something out of the other songs, and many are the best Cassidy has put on an album out of his four so far. I like Cassidy on the mic. He has a good presence and given he's known for battling and freestyling, it's no surprise he has some good punchlines. A little inconsistent but I love the best it offers, particularly 'A.M. to P.M.', 'Can't Fade Me', and the street anthem 'I'm a Hustla' bangs as well. Beats: ★★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★★ Best Tracks: I'm a Hustla, On da Grind, A.M. to P.M., Can't Fade Me, Get 'Em