Life on D-Block takes a while to heat up. While 'Time 2 Get Paid' is pretty good with the Biggie sample, nothing really caught my attention greatly till 'The Boyz From NY', which has one of the best beats on the album. Overall, nothing is too bad but nothing is brilliant either. On some tracks though, I really enjoy his flow and wordplay and think with some overall better production he could make a much better album. Best Tracks: That Nigga, The Boyz From NY, My Guns Go, Give That Up, Not Livin' It, Time 2 Get Paid.

Disappointing album and the worst out of the four solo albums from Ne-Yo at the time of release. 'One in a Million' aside, it doesn't really feature a great track as we are used to from his albums. Due to its short length and containing plenty of solid songs it gets a reasonable rating from me, but it never takes off. Also, many of the songs are too same-same. 'Genuine Only' particularly reminds me of his previous work, and not much of a new sound is present. The best track comes at track six in 'One in a Million' with a nice hook and production, and other reviews I'm seeing seem to agree with that opinion in it being the strongest song here. Still worth checking out for fans though. Best Tracks: Makin' a Movie, Telekinesis, One in a Million

Swizz Beatz... You can pick his beats from anywhere, particularly from the era this was released in, and that isn't necessarily a good thing. I've never been a fan and there have been many occasions where he has produced the worst song on albums. Here though, it's almost all him. It is hard to get excited about this from the intro where Swizz says the same thing over a poor backdrop. It sets the standard for the majority of this album. Another reviewer labelled the beats as soulless and it's not a bad description. Eve spits hard gangster lyrics that you'd expect and there's nothing great there either but the beats, and hooks in some cases, are the biggest issue here. My favourite track is one of the couple Swizz doesn't handle; the less gangsta, 'Heaven Only Knows', produced by Shok. As with 'Heaven Only Knows', 'Let's Talk About' is probably my other pick where Eve and Drag-On trade bars offering something different. Nothing is memorable. Thankfully her next couple of albums would be a step up. Beats: ★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★ Best Tracks: Let's Talk About, Heaven Only Knows

The thing I enjoyed about Trouble, (3.5/5), was that while it wasn't brilliant from front to back, it was different to most mainstream music, with a few different musical influences throughout most of the songs. Konvicted doesn't have this to the same degree which doesn't make it stand out like his last did. In saying all of this, it's a fairly consistent album and has some great songs to go back to. 3-3.5 /5. Best Tracks: I Wanna Love You, Never Took the Time, Tired of Runnin', Don't Matter, Once in a While, Gringo (Bonus Track)

Despite all the hate for this guy, I've always enjoyed the mix of R&B and hip hop he provides on his records. While I didn't love the single, 'Lonely', tracks like 'Locked Up' and 'Ghetto' are the stand-outs here and provide enjoyment years on. This lacks the consistency his next two albums have, but the best are among his greatest hits. Overall, I don't play the whole thing much these days but I still go back to a song or two every now and again. Best Tracks: Locked Up, Ghetto, Journey, Don't Let Up, Locked Up (Remix) *Written in 2010.