While The Game is a better rapper, I think the same sort of things can be said for Shaq and his albums. He is a student of the game, has a good ear for beats and surrounds himself with the right people. He really did get the best of the best. A case in point is 'Game of Death' that features a great Rakim verse that pushes Shaq to spit fantastically as well. Then you've got Biggie, DJ Quik, Mobb Deep, Jay-Z, Trackmasters, Darkchild, Easy Mo Bee, etc, and that makes for another more than decent album from Shaq. The production seems to be more sample heavy than his first two, and has a slightly softer sound, but it mostly still maintains that east coast boom bap sound. Quik doesn't let us down with the funky 'Strait Playin''. Being a huge Michael Jackson fan, it is weird hearing Biggie's 'Unbreakable' verse on 'Still Can't Stop the Reign'. For an album with 15 songs (minus the interludes) this is a lot more consistent that you'd expect. 'Big Dog Stomp' and the extra songs that hardly feature Shaq are the only ones I'm really looking to skip. Best Tracks: Still Can't Stop the Reign, Strait Playin', Best to Worst, Legal Money, Edge of Night, Game of Death

I listened to this after giving his previous two albums a listen and being surprised with what I found, but this is a bit of a drop off. Given that this is from '98, it isn't surprising that the production is a bit more poppy than this previous more boom-bap orientated albums, particularly his first two. The opener, 'Fiend '98', samples the much used and recognisable 'School Boy Crush' by Average White Band and Eric B. & Rakim's 'Microphone Fiend'. Sampling classic hip hop and mentioning rappers in bars was a common theme on Shaq's previous albums and it continues here. Next, 'The Way It's Goin' Down' amps up the funk. I can't find a producer list but it sounds like Dj Quik worked his magic here. 'Voices' then opens up with the little man in Shaq's head asking him why he always misses free throws. One of the likable aspects of Shaq's rapping was that he was always willing to poke fun at himself. The following 'Fly Like an Eagle' is another decent track with Trigga and Shaq trading bars, but the beat feels a bit more monotonous than what has come before. From there, the amount of pop rap and R&B hooks increase. 'Go to Let Me Know' is decent. 'River (Interlude)' is just emotional crooning by an R&B singer. 'Heat It Up', featuring Bad Boy's Loon, sticks out like a sore thumb. The production on it is so '98 and Bad Boy. It's the worst song here. 'Pool Jam' features another recognisiable sample and continues the run of weak tracks. It picks up from 'Make This a Night to Remember' that is a decent pop rap track and leads into the best song on here, 'Blaq Supaman', and the best run of tracks the album has. The beat is hard, Shaq comes correct and the chorus is catchy giving off a strong 'Tha Shiznit' feeling from when Snoop raps, "In the back of the limo, no demo, this is the real / Breakin' niggas down like Evander Holyfield." The next three songs follow that, providing hard beats and are among the best songs, and it finishes off decently. The middle of the album hurts this, but most tracks are decent-good. It's a product of its time, with the production not being as strong as what he has on his previous albums, but the producers and featuring artists he worked with on this album isn't quite as strong as what he had before. He had plans to release a follow up, 'Shaquille O'Neal Presents His Superfriends, Vol. 1', but it seems to have been cancelled fairly late into its creation, with promo copies released, so this is the last we got in terms of Shaq's albums. He didn't write with the rhyme schemes of Em, or flow like Rakim, but all of his albums are hated on way too much. He had a good ear for beats, and despite his limitations as a rapper, he was entertaining. Best Tracks: Blaq Supaman, 3 X's Dope, The Bomb Baby

"Im'ma stay real like Erick Sermon / Won't get caught jacking off like Pee-wee Herman" There isn't anything amazing here, but like on his debut, Shaq has a great production team behind him. RZA offers a very original Wu-Tang-like beat with the opener. The heartfelt 'Biological Didn't Bother (G-Funk Version)' gives off an obvious g-funk feel as does the following 'My Dear'. Elsewhere, there is a bit of funk and gritty hardcore hip hop. Shaq again offers some humour and he was obviously a lover of the genre with a number of references to classic rappers along with some very '90s references including to 'Ace Ventura', 'Speed' and Pee-wee Herman quoted in the hilarious bars at the top of this review. I can't not enjoy these beats, the various Nas and Biggie samples, and Shaq is likeable on the mic too. It was '94. It was more difficult to make a bad hip hop album than a good one. Best Tracks: Biological Didn't Bother (G-Funk Version), (So U Wanna Be) Hardcore, Nobody, Shag-Fu: Stand & Deliver

Some of these beats are just too 'primitive' in terms of where production got to over the next 5-10 years in the genre for me to rank this up there with the best of the best despite its importance. The DJ cuts improve as the album progresses. I ain't really feeling 'Eric B. Is on the Cut' at all, but from 'Chinese Arithmetic' to 'Extended Beat' they become worthy. Lots of memorable lines, but all of their albums have better production from here. 3.5-4/5 Best Tracks: Paid In Full, As The Rhyme Goes On, Eric B. Is President, Extended Beat

As far as Eric B. & Rakim albums go, I probably enjoy this one the most from beginning to end. That is largely due to '92 production being so great when compared to E&R's previous albums. Apart from a few songs in the middle that I don't feel a lot ('Rest Assured' - 'Relax With Pep') it starts and finishes well. A consistent listen throughout the twelve tracks. Best Tracks: What's on Your Mind, Pass the Hand Grenade, Keep the Beat, Know the Ledge, Don't Sweat the Technique