If you have kept up to date with the theories regarding the death of Pac and Big, this is a fairly pointless documentary that takes about 75 minutes to get to the point of the film that is to claim what the 'Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G' TV series claimed to debunk - that being the Biggie murders had LAPD cops involved. Most of the movie plays more like a documentary about Suge's life, how Pac was influenced by him and was never the gangsta he portrayed once he went to Death Row. A highlight of the interviews for me was Danny Boy who offers an interesting insight into living through the downfall of the Row at such a young age. One of the female interviewees also says that she didn't want what she was saying to be shown, but it was... I imagine Nick got the okay from her but it does leave a bit of bad taste in the mouth. As an interviewer and narrator, Nick Broomfield lacks much charm. I never mind reliving the story of the west and east coast beef as I find it to be an interesting topic, and there are interesting tidbits from the guests interviewed, but if you are well versed in the history of the two artists and Suge, you are better off putting on 'All Eyez on Me' and vibing to that classic album again.
There are times when Nicki is likeable, the beats good enough, and the guests come correct. However, then there is an annoying accent, cringe-worthy lyrics ("d*** in your face"-'Cone on a Cone') or some wack crossover tune. I feel like she could make an album I could enjoy if she held back a touch. But then again, I guess there are many people who feel that her distinctive randomness makes her what she is. The weakest portion of the album for me is the five dance-pop tunes from 'Starships' to 'Beautiful Sinner' that we've all heard many times before. It goes okay, fans should enjoy most of this.
Best Tracks: Roman Holiday, Champion, Gun Shot
This is a decent pop album and better than certain garbage websites with moronic mods (R*M) would have you believe with its sub 2/5 rating. it's heaps better than I thought it would be based on the fact that it's by someone who's famous for being famous. The production and writing team is fairly stacked, who provide some different flavours, led by Scott Storch, who was hitting a lot of winners around '06. 'Jealousy' reminds me a bit of a Garbage song and then 'Heartbeat' feels like an '80s synthpop tune. I don't know if it's a case of extremely low expectations leading to me enjoying this more than I otherwise would have, but some songs go hard. It does somewhat die towards the end with the last three songs being the weakest and the cover of Rod Stewart's 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?' feeling unnecessary.
Best Tracks: Turn It Up, Stars Are Blind, Jealousy, Heartbeat, Nothing in This World
There are some high moments here, but as others say, this is just too long. Albeit some are interludes, but 22 tracks with the sound being similar from song to song makes it drag on. The audio inserts, added to the beginning and end of songs at times, adds to those feelings. I've said it a million times in reviews, if you are going to add speech/interludes/skits, etc, make them their own separate track. When I was about two-thirds of the way through this, I actually thought I was back to the start because the song sounded similar to what i had already heard. A consistent, decent listen, but it feels bloated.
Best Tracks: Body Bag Philosopher, Don Eladio, Angels with Dirty Faces
I like enough of what Daft Punk have done, so there is no hate here, but I find the majority of this to be throwback disco cheese at an extremely high level. The love isn't warranted and the supposed best song from this album based on the ratings, 'Get Lucky', is okay for about 2 minutes, then it's incredibly boring.
Best Tracks: Give Life Back to Music, Giorgio by Moroder, Contact