I’ve made an effort to keep up with every Buck release over the years, but this one slipped past me. Buck sticks to what he does best here: high-energy bars, punchy hooks, and booming drums that keep your head nodding. It’s straightforward, and while he doesn’t venture far creatively, he knows his lane and rides it confidently. There are also a few refreshing production switch-ups beyond the usual trap sound, especially on tracks like 'Living' and 'Do His Work'. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Songs: Jus Know, Living, Ash Tray, Relationship Goals, Running Off, Wavy, Do His Work

This is a weak Buck tape. He has a lot of worthwhile projects, and he delivers his bars with his usual hi-octane energy, but you can skip this one. It's not levelled properly either with 'That Line' sounding much quieter than every other song. 'Shoot Off' has Scarface like keys that is promising at first, but it doesn't live up to the hype. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: Tap In, Sauce

This is pretty standard boom bap. These producer albums are rarely as good as the artists’ solo projects. They come, perform their verse, most of which are decent here, but then the job’s done. There are the light standouts like, ‘Out for the Cash’ (Common, Al’ Tariq, Fat Joe, The Beatnuts) and the funky ‘What It Look Like' (Def Jef) that are elevated by some top verses. Sonically, the album leans into thick drums, dusty loops, and turntable cuts that were a hallmarks of the era and the production is tight, but rarely surprising or anything fans of the genre haven’t heard before. It plays things safe, staying squarely in the gritty East Coast arena, albeit by a Japanese producer, without sounding like anything too fresh. It's still worth checking out for the amount of talent on the songs, even if there are a couple of artists like Naybahood Watch and Volume 10 who most have probably not heard of. It's worth mentioning too that the versions of this are very different. The Japanese version, that I'm reviewing here, has a number of different songs compared to the US release. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: Game of Death (Erick Sermon), What It Look Like (Def Jef), Out for the Cash (Common, Al’ Tariq, Fat Joe, The Beatnuts)

This one's a mixed bag, weighed down by more lukewarm moments than you'd expect from a Paris release. No solo album of his has this many mid-tier beats. Tracks like 'Plastic Nation', 'Coinsequences', and 'Invisible Man' fall short of something extra. Still, the highlights are undeniable and never get old. The first half delivers solid material, but the energy dips noticeably at Flavor's solo cut, 'They Call Me Flavor'. As always, Paris closes strong with a fiery extended remix that ends the album on a high note. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Can't Hold Us Back, Raw Shit, Hard Truth Soldiers, Make It Hardcore, Field Nigga Boogie (XLR8R Remix)

There’s some above-average production here, no doubt. It’s just a shame more people can’t separate the music from the drama. Like his father, King Combs isn’t exactly elite on the mic (The line, “Suck a n**** c*** 'til I'm c*** less” from 'The List' is a lowlight), but the beats in particular and occasionally solid writing help carry things. North West pops up on the opener, (which sounds really similar to another Kanye song), with a grating voice. She needs to stay out of the booth for a while. It feels like she’s just being dragged into the divorce circus. The final track is held back by an irritating sound that runs through much of it. Still, the first five tracks are pretty enjoyable, with 'People Like Me' standing out as the clear highlight. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★☆ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Lonely Roads, People Like Me, Repeat Me