Album two of my revisiting of Ludacris' discography. It's evident fairly early on that this album has more of a diverse sound than his major debut, 'Back for the First Time', which is mostly all on the cusp of hardcore hip hop. The diversity in production doesn't necessarily mean there is more here to enjoy though, and I think this has more songs that are skippable. It begins with an opener that goes for an epic start and it works fairly well sampling the familiar 'Symphony No. 9, 4th Movement' by Allegro Con Fuoco. Next is the well known 'Rollout (My Business)'. The hook is catchy but at the same time not that exciting and I've never loved this one. The next few are all okay with 'She Said' being the catchiest being about girls who say they haven't done particular sexual stuff but they be lying! From there, in between a racist skit, the more familiar songs come with 'Area Codes', 'Growing Pains', 'Move Bitch' and 'Saturday (Oooh Oooh!)' that are some of the best on the album. Luda and 4-Ize combine again for a freestyle over bare bones production as they did on 'Back for the First Time'. I've always thought the dark 'Cold Outside' was one of his better songs that feels a bit like 'Slap' from 'Release Therapy' and it finishes with the hard 'Block Lockdown' and the hidden track, 'Welcome to Atlanta'. Similarly to his previous album, there aren't any bad songs, but there are many that just come and go and I don't adore much. There are too many songs around 3/5. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Coming 2 America, Area Codes, Move Bitch, Cold Outside Songs ordered (best-worst): Cold Outside ★★★★☆ Move Bitch ★★★★ Coming 2 America ★★★★ Area Codes ★★★☆ Growing Pains ★★★☆ Rollout (My Business) ★★★☆ Welcome to Atlanta ★★★ She Said ★★★ Saturday (Oooh Oooh!) ★★★ Block Lockdown ★★★ Cry Babies (Oh No) ★★★ Keep It on the Hush ★★★ Word of Mouf (Freestyle) ★★★ Get the Fuck Back ★★★ Freaky Thangs ★★★ Go 2 Sleep ★★☆ Howhere (Skit) Stop Lying (Skit) Greatest Hits (Skit)

Very entertaining, and at times moving, given what the guests have been accused of doing, but like many of these shows, the behind the scenes actions of the producers and staff are troubling. Steve himself says he doesn't trust the results of a lie detector test, but then once the guests fail one on the show, he takes it as gospel.

Album three of my Ludacris discography revisiting brings me to 'Chicken-N-Beer' that I originally had at 2.5/5 but quickly I've realised I was way too harsh. This has more of what the previous albums are missing. 'Southern Fried Intro' has an energetic and fast spitting Luda over enjoyable high tempo production. The lethal 'Blow It Out' sees Ludacris take shots at his haters including Bill O'Reilly who cops it on 'Hoes in My Room' as well. 'Splash Waterfalls' is good for a minute, but then it drags on a lot and feels like a long song. It's a missed opportunity with the likeable sample. On the other hand, 'Hard Times' is longer but flies by. 'Hard Times' and the Kanye West produced 'Stand Up' have some of the best production Ludacris had received or produced himself up to this point in his career. 'Diamond in the Back' features some nice soulful production too with Ludacris' laid-back delivery suiting the instrumental well and 'P-Poppin'' has dope funky production. So, just over half way, and the production is a winner. The tail isn't as strong, but still features good moments including the closer, 'Eyebrows Down', that has some of the more interesting introspective and storytelling verses from Luda up until this point in his career. The penultimate song, 'We Got', with its cough kick drums, is another good rap song. The weaker moments are, as mentioned 'Splash Waterfalls', and to a lesser degree 'Teamwork' and 'Hoes in My Room' but they aren't skips. It's worth mentioning the skits that don't hit. 'Rob Quarters Skit' about a wannabe ageing rapper isn't bad, but the rest, including 'Black man's Struggle Skit', that is just a man struggling on a toilet, is the attempt at humour we're given. Some versions also have 'Act a Fool', 'Blow It Out (Remix)' and 'Southern Hospitality (Remix)'. 'Act a Fool' from the film, '2 Fast 2 Furious', goes hard. 'Southern Hospitality (Remix)' features UK rappers Ms. Dynamite and Maxwell D and they don't mess up the great production. 'Blow It Out (Remix)' features 50 'Snake' Cent and he jumps in for the third verse. He raps completely differently devoid of the energy of Ludacris. The original is better. This isn't amazing song after amazing song, but I definitively underrated this. Overall the production is the most enjoyable from his first three albums. There is just something more to a lot of these songs than on the previous album, 'Word of Mouf'. There are more songs with replay value, the few of the best are probably in Luda's tpo 10, and there aren't as many average moments. Beats: ★★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Southern Fried Intro, Stand Up, Hard Times, Diamond in the Back, P-Poppin', We Got, Eyebrows Down, Act a Fool, Southern Hospitality (Remix) Songs ordered (best-worst): Hard Times ★★★★☆ Stand Up ★★★★☆ Eyebrows Down ★★★★☆ Diamond in the Back ★★★★ We Got ★★★★ Act a Fool ★★★★ Southern Fried Intro ★★★★ Southern Hospitality (Remix) ★★★☆ P-Poppin' ★★★☆ Blow It Out ★★★☆ Blow It Out (Remix) ★★★ Screwed Up ★★★ Hip Hop Quotables ★★★ Hoes in My Room ★★★ Teamwork ★★☆ Splash Waterfalls ★★ Rob Quarters Skit Interactive Skit T Baggin' Skit Black Man's Struggle Skit

M.I.A.'s sound has never been my cup of tea. I love a few of her songs, but generally many have been skips. '100% Sustainable' and 'Puththi' are examples of skips on this album and it is again a mixed bag. I do though enjoy the songs with more of a conventional sound like K.T.P. and there are more of these than her previous albums that I've checked out. I've been unsure what to rate this. I don't love everything, but it's all still fairly engaging and the album feels more like ten minutes than thirty-three minutes in running time. Between a 3 and a 3.5 out of 5. Best Tracks: Beep, The One, Popular, K.T.P. (Keep The Peace), Marigold

I like Bun and many of the features on this guest filled project, but there are tired, old southern hip hop topics, none of the production is great, and nothing moves me too much. It's an easy, enjoyable listen at only 34 minutes, but there isn't anything that's memorable. Best Tracks: Hesitate, Dueces in the Wnid