What a waste of intriguing ideas and compelling characters. Despite the strong cinematography, engaging setting, memorable music, and initially interesting cast, it all devolves into yet another dull vampire film that could have been set in any era. The vampire genre is incredibly overdone at this point. While this hasn't affected my rating, it's worth noting: if the racial dynamics were reversed, a film like this wouldn’t get made yet it's still somehow acceptable to portray things this way.

A likeable series from the man from Manchester with the orange shaped head. A number of themes like Karl not wanting kids, getting rid of furniture, not wanting friends, and so on were mentioned in the podcast with Steve and Ricky, so he basically just plays two versions of himself, the one who has to keep it together and the little man inside his head who can't be seen or heard by others. I found the Norma character not so likeable. For example, Karl just starts a well paying job and she complains that he can't come to her performance like she's 8 instead of 80. Also at times Karl can get too whinny to the point of annoyance that slightly ruins the enjoyment of scenes.

This gets off to a rough start with 'Body Krazy', weighed down by forgettable features and a dated, uninspired beat. It's an odd choice for an opener. 'Swag Back' steadies the ship somewhat, but the tape never really climbs too high. Much like Naughty by Nature’s 'Anthem Inc' released a year prior to this tape, there are flashes of conscious content, mainly clustered in the middle of the project on tracks like 'Windows'. 'Trip to New Jersey' lifts its flow heavily from Jeezy’s 'Amazing', while 'Jersey Stand Up' is little more than an instrumental interlude. Beyond the weak opener, there’s nothing outright bad here, but there’s also nothing that truly sticks. With more Treach and fewer guest appearances, he might have been able to rise above the largely average production, but as it stands, the project feels serviceable at best. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: Swag Back, Land of the Lost, Daddy Don't Lie, Windows, Reign, Trigga Tribe Body Krazy 34 Swag Back 66 Warning 54 My Way or the Highway 62 Land of the Lost 66 Daddy Don't Lie 70 F That 64 Windows 66 Jersey Stand Up 50 This Part of Town 60 Fuckyoutalkinbout 62 Roll 54 Reign 70 Trip to New Jersey 60 Trigga Tribe 67 Strange Thangs 60 Tribal Drums 60

It's great to hear Treach back and even better to hear that he'll be releasing a solo album in '26. 'TWA' is a highlight. It sees Treach rapping over NWA's 'Real Niggaz Don't Die' but adds to it as well with some different touches. 'Lay Low' is over Snoop's single of the same name, and 'Gangsta Bitch Part 2' uses Apache's greatest song. Backed by those classic beats, those are the best moments, and Treach sounds great over them. Those aside, there are still some good songs but the album falls away in the final third without anything really jumping out at me. It's better than his other tape, 'Tribal Treach' from 2012. He can still spit. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Lay Low, Bring It on Back, TWA, Gangsta Bitch Part 2 1. Law Low 84 2. Free Paper Burn 54 3. Bring It on Back 70 4. TWA 90 5. Word Wizards 75 6. Wake Up 60 7. Let It Be Known 54 8. Showing Off 62 9. Gangsta Bitch Part 2 88 10. Die Nigga 50 11. Treach Chapo 64 12. Gang Gang 60 13. Willie Lump Lump 64 14. Ain’t Nobody Me 65 15. Goofy 64

I’ve said this about other long-running artists recently, like Z-Ro: when you’ve been rapping as long as Flip and his peers have, sprawling projects don’t usually do you any favours. At 21 tracks, this album feels overextended. Flip is largely covering familiar ground like spitting game, talking hard work, success, and his come-up. He’s still a capable rapper, but the project would benefit from stricter quality control. There aren’t many poor songs, and the consistency is solid, with a decent range from bangers like ‘Looking 4 Money’ to the more laid-back, vibey ‘Fruits of My Labor’. Still, it drags a bit overall, which makes it hard to rate higher, especially when there’s nothing here that feels truly A-tier. Fans will get something out of it. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Hustle, Fruits of My Labor, Huaraches, Losing My Mind, Look What God Done, Looking 4 Money, Smart Idiots