Due to it's so bad it's good album art, his previous album, 'Funky As I Wanna Be', has been on my to-listen-to list for a while, but due to it not being available on Spotify, here I am, and from the jump, this is great. It's just what I want from hip hop and why I cite the west coast as the best coast. The production is funky and contains catchy, creative and in some cases really well-sung hooks. Pooh can rap, and after only having heard one album, I think he can be added to the underrated list. You can't judge a rapper by their album covers, hey. One of the highlights here is 'Backstabbaz' with the O'Jays' 'Back Stabbers' lyrical interpolation but it's all a consistent hour of funky hip hop. The production it's backed by is bouncy, but I will again bemoan the 6 minutes of shout outs as the closer... Yawn... Pooh does say something interesting about Tupac though. "Tupac, what's really going on, man? You get the ass kicking award for this year. Stop beating up on people." If only he listened.. Beats: ★★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★★ Best Tracks: 50-50 Chance, Body Bag, Bring It 2 'Em, Judgement Day, Studio Gangster, Backstabbaz

Produced by Paris, who has created some of the best albums in hip hop history, the duo, The Conscious Daughters, come with their debut album. Despite being associated with Paris, who always spits about conscious/political issues, and their name, a lot of the lyrics don't venture far from brag rap. 'Shitty Situation' is about an unwanted pregnancy and 'Wife of a Gangsta' kind of feels like a cautionary tale of sorts about being in a relationship with a G, but there isn't many actual conscious themes here which is surprising. The production feels quite different from what Paris was producing for himself on his solo projects showing some of his versatility. It's all pretty great though. The remixes, found on the reissue, are all worthy. The remix of 'Somethin' to Ride to (Fonky Expedition)' adds some more vibey g-funk and improves it. 'Sticky Situation' on the other hand makes 'Shitty Situation' sound rawer. 'We Roll Deep (Smooth Radio Remix)' samples 'Between the Sheets' by The Isley Brothers which of course makes it dope. The main thing that lets this down is the content, as a number of tracks don't have much. Paris does his thing on the boards though and the two females rap well. It's well worth checking out if you like mid-'90s west coast hip hop. Beats: ★★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★★ Best Tracks: Shitty Situation, We Roll Deep, Showdown, Da Mac Flow, Somethin' to Ride to (Fonky Expedition) (Remix), We Roll Deep (Smooth Radio Remix)

This had been on my to-watch-list for years. The premise is captivating, but unfortunately I was very underwhelmed. The most popular review on Letterboxd about this movie is spot on, as is another comment about not believing they made a film about rollerball boring. Apart from the spherical old Audi building nothing really makes you feel like you're watching a futuristic movie, and I doubt it truly had that effect in 1975. The sport itself isn't that exciting or completely explained with the close ups during the sport annoying me as I wanted more of an idea of what was happening around the arena. Now to the crowd: There are shots where the crowd is empty in sections. There is a wide shot towards the end of the film and it's clear that the stands are only about 1/6th filled for the close ups of the supporters cheering. I never got the feeling the sport was that popular. They didn't do a good job portraying that. Why have this extremely violent sport when no one cares? Maybe there was a comment I missed about everyone watching on TV... I don't know. We're also meant to believe that the crowd is completely silent for a minute in the chaos at the end of the final game... The final zoom in shot is weird too... There are also many scenes away from the sport that feel like filler and the message the writers and director were trying to pass on to the viewer are unclear. The director, Jewison, wasn't pleased to learn that it encouraged people to try and play the sport rather than be influenced by his intended anti-violence message. The only thing that keeps you kind of interested is asking why the bigwigs are trying to force the ageing veteran Jonathan E out of the sport.

After watching The Devil's Own, I wasn't surprised to read that it had to go through late rewrites and was rushed, because it feels incomplete. Pitt was originally going to be the sole lead, but once Ford was in, the script had to be changed to elaborate on his story. The ideas are here but it just feels like it's missing some depth and minor parts of the plot that aren't fleshed out more. 2.5-3/5.

This is a stock standard west coast, mobb music affair. From the rapping through to the production, everything is decent but in a genre and time period with so much amazing west coast hip hop, this definitely doesn't stand out from the crowd. As songs like 'Fuckin' Wit Banks' tell, Banks had beef with Pooh-Man, but after checking out his '93 album, Judgement Day, after I did this, there is no doubt who the better rapper is; Pooh-Man. The topics and songwriting offers very little, if any, originality too. Best Tracks: Streets of Oakland, The Drunken Fool, Hard as Hell