I like hearing the legends return as much as anyone, but the production here is average at best making everything forgettable. It seems like RZA tried to make beats that sound like the era these rappers come from, and he's succeeded in that, but they aren't strong beats by any means. The hooks are poor too. Roxanne's voice seems to have gotten a lot higher as she's aged making her less engaging to listen to. BDK still sounds brilliant like always and that song has the best instrumentation too. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★ Best Tracks: Open Ya Eyes

This is a consistently solid album. It's mostly boom bap with a touch of shiny suit era pop rap. One of the best songs for me is 'Be Like Mic' that has a hook that gets stuck in your head from the first listen. The closer, 'Usual Suspects', that features DMX, is another highlight. There are some familiar samples like 'Street Life' by The Crusaders used for the hook of 'Street Life' and Cameo's 'Word Up' on the Carl Thomas and Jay-Z assisted 'Single Life'. The subject matter of the bars is decent but Mic doesn't have that strong a voice or mic presence. This would likely be a 3.5/5 if one or two of these songs elevated to the next level but there is nothing top tier. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: Vendetta, For Tha Family, Be Like Mic, Things Ain't What They Used To Be, Usual Suspects

There are some solid moments here, but much of it doesn’t come close to his stand-up. 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' is genuinely clever, drawing attention to just how ridiculous the lyrics really are. 'The Fantastic Four' works in a similar way, poking fun at how the four heroes are named. 'World's First Two Gay Guys' starts off funny, but it’s followed by two more skits that drag the idea out and become grating, featuring a man shouting for minutes on end. The 'Hidden Track' is amusingly set up with an explanation of why it’s “hidden”, before revealing itself as a recording of his Star Search stand-up set. There are also recurring tracks built around a commentator obsessively rooting for a player or team he’s bet on. 'Stan + Lois' has a clever angle, examining Superman’s secret identity through an unexpected lens. 'Tex Hooper' follows a country singer returning from a long hiatus, only for all his new songs to be filled with overtly homosexual themes, much to the surprise of everyone else in the studio. It’s funny, but at nearly 20 minutes it probably overplays the joke. The CD definitely has its moments, but there’s stronger Norm material out there like Norm Macdonald: Hitler’s Dog, Gossip & Trickery being an easy example. Best Tracks: The Fantastic Four, World's First Two Gay Guys, The Twelve Days of Christmas, Hidden Track

First and foremost, fu** the annoying DJ Drama. Does anyone think his lame, corny shouting improves this at all? Honestly, it makes me not want to play the tape more than once...Game is back to his pre-The R.E.D. Album days releasing heaps of mixtape songs in the lead up to an album. Here we have 12 new ones with 'Gangsta Grillz: Every Movie Needs a Trailer' (minus 'Livin') as a second CD. It seems to have been re-released in late Jan '26 removing 'It Feels Like Heaven', yet both versions are still on streaming services which is weird. The production on the new tracks overall is slightly harder and just suits Game better compared to what he had on 'Every Movie Needs a Trailer'. People talk about him dropping Dre and other artists in his raps every other song but it's the brand-name drops I find more irritating. "Cartier, Cardi B." He needs to stop doing it. I'm only rating this based on the new songs here and it's slightly better than the original 18 songs being a more consistent play from front to back, but there's still nothing amazing. Hopefully he is saving all the gold for Doc 3. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★☆ DJ Drama: ☆ Best Tracks: Art Basel, It Feels Like Heaven

There are one or two decent bits. "When I was young, I fuc*** a lot of older women. Lotta of my aunties.........friends." But a lot of tired skin-colour based jokes too that need to die from stand-up comedy. The last third or so is more of Mike telling his coming up from nothing story and reeling off his filmography. Not bad. Not great. Big fans will probably enjoy.