Once again, like every Roots album I've listened to so far, the album maintains a consistent sound (they produce 'albums'), but not enough stands out to me as a classic track. It's probably a combination of the vocally undistinctive rappers and the beats which don't bounce and/or vary enough throughout the album. This has slightly grown on me after 3-4 spins but so far from five of their albums I've checked out I'm unstimulated by this critically acclaimed hip hop act. Best Tracks: The Spark, Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New, Adrenaline!, Don't See Us

Some albums take a while to grow on you, but from the word go the funky gangster beats on offer here make you wanna bounce. Despite the album title, it isn't quite as hard lyrically or musically as say Tim Dog's 'Penicillin on Wax'. In saying that, the funky production probably downplays the lyrics though. The beats are perhaps a bit dated for '93 and I feel like they could have been years older, but nevertheless they still bang. Well worth checking out if you like your rap funky. Best Tracks: U Don't Hear Me Tho' (Street Only)/(Radio Mix), What Really Goes On, The Jammy, California Cruiser, Wake Up New York

Everything is laidback, jazzy and funky but there's nothing that really really grabs me on this record. I prefer the tracks with vocals also, the ones that have limited vocals start to linger a tad like 'Do U Dig U?' and 'Million Times'. Unsurprisingly, a lot of it reminds me of A Tribe Called Quest and it ain't as original as I thought it would be from what I had read about this project before acquiring it. The bonus track 'Make it Work' reminds me of the beats from 'Midnight Marauders'. Despite this negativity though, overall it's still an enjoyable chill out record, but with all the hype as a 'lost' album of sorts and the solid rating this has, I expected more. Best Tracks: Feelin', Barely in Love, Abstractionisms, Even If It's So, Make It Work

I'm not feeling the hype with this one. The beats aren't at all anything refreshing, it lacks catchy hooks, and a lot of the time I wasn't finding anything redeeming in Royce's bars. I wasn't getting much out of them and sometimes his flow was annoying me as well. Best Tracks: You Should Know, Wishin', Underground Kings

I've said it before, but The Game can pick a beat, and again, some of his best stuff is on his mixtapes. 'Gutter' is straight gutta and just a great hardcore tune to follow on from the good opener. There are some remix type tunes such as 'Haterz' which features a previous mixtape tracks vocals in 'My Turn' and works very well, and of course 'My 6-4' using Eazy's classic tune. If you're a fan of Game you'll enjoy this. One of his best non-album releases. Best Tracks: Get Dollaz, Gutter, Hustler's, U Krazy, My 6-4, Maniac, Why You Hate The Game, Haterz.