This starts off fairly well with 'Back Again' and 'In This World' being particular early favourites with nice beats and Talib spitting great as he does. The poppier 'Midnight Hour' at track seven is definitely one of the worst tracks on the album and doesn't quite fit in with what the rest of the album does. And from there, while not quite getting back to the heights of the earlier mentioned tracks, there is still some good stuff to listen to. I'm generally more of a beat guy, but since giving this album a few good spins, it's more Talib, and some guests later on, who really help this album to be enjoyable in the second half, with the beats dropping off a touch in quality the longer the album goes on. While not containing anything ground-breaking, there is some really good stuff - some memorable lines, the Jay-Z sample used in 'In This World' is great, and the Michael Jackson "leave me alone" is memorable as well on 'In The Red'. Overall, it gets a commendable three and a half because there is some good stuff early and even with it dropping off and not featuring anything brilliant in the latter stages, it's still not a bad listen. Listening to this though reminded me that I must check out the prequel to this and the one or two releases I've missed from Talib's discography. Best Tracks: Back Again, Strangers, In This World, Got Work, In the Red, Ballad of the Black Gold, Just Begun

While not having a great ratio of great material, I've always anticipated Flip's new releases for some reason. For me he has become a more consistent artist recently putting out some good collab stuff, and if there is a lot of mediocre material on an album, there is generally a quality track or two. This mixtape/album is fairly consistent. There is nothing to bad, the production is decent-good on a few tracks and as usual you have Flip's laid back flow with some nice wordplay with a dash of humour. I'd recommended this one to fans of Flip Gates. The title track is a standout. Best Tracks: Respect Me, I Got 2 Be, Real Life, Let Me Do Me, Supafly (Hands Up High), Stop Lyin'

I usually check for new Flip material, but this fell under the radar. Over the 18 tracks the beats are quite strong, something that one can't usually say after listening to a whole Flip release. Some of the beats are originals and others are sample heavy like 'In the Air Tonight' or well known beats. One of the better tapes I've heard this year. Flip Gate$! Best Tracks: G-5 Status, I'm a Str8 Rydah, Trill 4eva, Dictatorship, Geto Dreamz, Hi Power, Rock-n-Roll, The Turtle Won the Race

Lil' Flip, despite not making the greatest albums, is a good rapper and Young Noble has been around for ages. This is an album which doesn't overdo it, it only has 10 full songs, the rest of the 14 being skits (2 of which are audio excerpts from the 'American Gangster' film) and the other 2 are a short intro and outro. Both of these guys styles work well together, this easily has the least filler for anything by Flip and if you like any Lil' Flip material it's worth a listen. A surprise. Best Tracks: Where You From?, Be About Somethin, I'm a G, Last Dayz, On My Team

I really enjoyed/enjoy Lil' Flips last album 'All Eyez on Us'. It was a consistent piece of work that felt like an album, it had very long replayability and Flip had a good partnership going with Young Noble. Certified is less consistent, a bit more pop rappy than All Eyez on Us, but not overly, the featured artist Gudda Gudda doesn't have the same presence as Young Noble (you don't really notice him) and overall it's just not as solid. Still though, the production is still on the right track which has let down some past Flip material and I like the best tracks enough to give it a decent score. Best Tracks: Bosses Make It Rain, She So Fly, I Love Cali, Down South Legends, Certified, G Tales.