“Unc, Unc, Unc.” Am I doing it right? Honestly, this is wildly overrated. The beats feel uninspired. Sure, if you’re a diehard Raekwon fan, maybe his verses hit for you (features like Ghostface and Nas are much more engaging rappers), but even if that's the case, on the whole, there’s nothing remarkable on offer. The production sounds stuck in the mid-2000s, with tracks like 'Da Heavies' being the most obvious example. It reminds me of something else from that era, but I can’t quite place it at the moment. Either way, hip hop starts with the beats, and these are tired and not eventful or fresh. And there are also zero hooks too. It opens decently with 'Bear Hill', but rule number one is to switch up the instrumental for the hook. That doesn't happen here. '1 Life' has a completely unappealing hook. The skits are also mixed so low that they’re basically inaudible. After a couple of listens, there’s nothing that sticks, nothing I’m itching to revisit, and nothing that Raekwon or rappers in his lane haven’t done before and better. Yet judging by some of the reviews, he gets a pass, and almost praise, for this. It's a boring album. Beats: ★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★☆ Best Tracks: 600 School, Get Outta Here, Mac & Lobster

I’ve always preferred the darker tone of DC films over the more light-hearted style of Marvel, so with James Gunn directing this, the shift in tone is not surprising. In this film, Lex Luthor calls Superman stupid, and to be honest, he kind of has a point. It takes Superman far too long to realise that Lex is the one feeding instructions to his enemies, including his own clone. Despite Superman’s reputation for intelligence and super-hearing, neither of those traits are shown here. He comes across as slow to react and is repeatedly saved by others, or even by his dog. That's not very 'super of him. At times he feels more like Shazam than Superman. And then there is Lex, a supposed criminal mastermind, who lets his girlfriend take selfies anywhere and have access to information that will destroy him. Several plot points feel lazy or overly convenient. For example, it is a major coincidence that Rex Mason/Metamorpho, has his baby in the cube directly across from Superman. Even more conveniently, he is the character placed in a cell with him. These choices feel like shortcuts in the writing rather than thoughtful developments. The story is also highly predictable, which makes those moments even less effective. We see almost nothing of Clark Kent too. Something else other Superman films have balanced a lot better. Lex crying after being caught felt completely out of character. For someone as cold and calculating as Luthor, that kind of emotional breakdown did not make sense. Then there is Lois, who is somehow able to fly an aircraft simply because the controls are described as "intuitive". It comes across as a lazy explanation to move the plot forward. The overall story is one we have seen many times before. Superman once again shifts from hero to villain. His foster parents appear briefly just to deliver a short emotional speech. The relationship with Lois follows the same familiar beats. He ends up fighting himself, just like in Superman III. The Fortress of Solitude is ransacked again. Since the Christopher Reeve era, it feels like Superman has not evolved. It is as if the writers and studios believe each new film exists in a vacuum, forgetting what came before. It's a shame Man of Steel wasn't able to have been built upon. - Although if I know Hollywood, they probably would've just had Lex as the enemy there too. The one major new element here is that his real parents are revealed to be evil, which I'm still not sure about. In the end, it just feels like another superhero movie taken from the assembly line. I generally prefer superhero films with one hero, not an ensemble, and prefer the darker themes of Man of Steel and other DC entries that aim to be more grounded than ones filled with pocket universes and 300-metre tall frogs. Moments of tension are so often undercut by a joke (usually from Superman), that it breaks the immersion. It only reinforces my view that darker, more serious superhero films are more effective. They just feel more grounded." In all of the other Superman movies, I can recall more memorable action scenes. In this however, there is nothing coming to mind that was that eye-catching. He stops things falling on humans or animals multiple times but that's about it... Despite the many negatives, I was pleasantly surprised by David as Superman. I also thought the casting choices overall worked well. The film is entertaining enough for a decent rating and it's visually strong, even if the story leaves a lot to be desired. It has a lot more plot problems than the hated on Dawn of Justice, and while people love to call that over-complicated, it doesn't talk down to the audience like this one. The more I've typed here, and thought about the movie post viewing, the more I feel like I should go lower than my gut feel of 3/5, but I'll leave it for now.

I didn't expect to like this much at all, as his last album only had a small number of tracks I enjoyed, and furthermore his first album is consistent but nothing much stands out to me on it. With this album though on the first listen only a few tracks stood out so I kept listening to them and discovered other tracks I have liked, and after many listens although some tracks sound quite similar there ain't much I don't enjoy now. It's got pretty good beats, catchy choruses, and Jeezy introduces featuring artists at a good time and they all work well. Despite the similar-sounding beats throughout the album, I would comfortably say that this is his most enjoyable album so far. One of those bangin' albums. Beats: ★★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★★★ Best Tracks: Crazy World, Amazin', Hustlaz Ambition, Don't You Know, Vacation, Everything, Takin' It There, Don't Do It, Put On, My President.

This begins surprisingly well. 'Bad Dreams' is a reflective track about missed opportunities, bad decisions-particularly around drugs-and the harsh realities that follow, all backed by a smooth boom bap beat. The title track, ‘Derranged,’ has a dope, catchy hook that'll get you moving. I’m not sure why it’s spelled with a double “r” though. Maybe part of the derangement is the poor spelling? ‘Money Makes the World’ topically delivers exactly what the title suggests, and pairs a simple but memorable hook with solid production. ‘Throw Em Up’ keeps the boom bap energy high with a hard-hitting hook, though at six minutes, it overstays its welcome. From there, ‘Puffin’ on a Blunt’ sees a slight dip in quality, though it retains many of the strengths from earlier tracks. ‘Rock Bottom’ brings a darker tone (one of the emcees even sounds a bit like Kool Keith), but the guest features don’t all land. Then comes a more noticeable drop in both song quality and technical aspects like mixing and mastering. Poorly executed keys on the oddly titled, 'Ya Boy and Them Anthem', also give it a more amateurish feel. ‘Me and My Niggaz’ offers a welcome bounce back with some jazz-rap elements. I’m sure it samples something familiar, possibly a track used in some bigger hits, but I can’t quite place it. After that, the album closes with radio edits of the opening tracks and a remix of ‘Derranged’ that strips the beat back to something more minimal. The original hits harder, but this version still works. Overall, for a rare album by a rapper who, as far as I can tell, never released anything else, this is an unexpectedly strong and mostly consistent project. It stumbles toward the end, but the highs (especially in the first half), make this a forgotten gem worth digging up. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Bad Dreams, Derranged, Money Makes the World, Derranged (Mental Remix) 1 Bad Dreams 80 2 Derranged 84 3 Money Makes The World 80 4 Throw Em Up 74 5 Puffin' on a Blunt 70 6 Rock Bottom 66 7 Ya Boy and Them Anthem 54 8 Me and My Niggaz 70 9 Bad Dreams (Radio) 10 Derranged (Radio) 11 Derranged (Mental Remix) 80

At times this sounds very much like something else I've heard. I think it's 'Royal Flush' by the 909 Boyz. I checked the credits to see if anyone worked on both projects, but it doesn't seem like it. Anyway, this is another decent under-heard west coast hip hop release. There are only a few moments that are instantly catchy though, like the hook for two of the first three songs listed below. 'Comin' Up Missin'' has the best one here by far, and the Pac, "fuck the world," vocals are sampled for the next that works really well. 'Comin' Up Missin' also has an energy that other songs on the album could use more of. The production and mastering isn't A1 from front to back, but if you like that mobb music/hyphy sounds you won't hate spinning this one. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Comin' Up Missin', Trapped in a Mad World, Blackfist