This isn't very good. There are lots of generic beats and nothing much from the rappers stands out. Even legends like Nas and Eminem give below average performances. And good Lord, I hate the way Cam'ron raps. DJ Drama and others could've learnt a few things from Kay Slay though. At least you don't hear him shouting throughout the songs like a moron. Best Tracks: I Never Liked Ya Ass, The Champions, New Jack City, Angels Voice, Coast to Coast Gangstas

It's like they (the 35 reported screenwriters that worked on this film and others involved) thought the effort with the production design and some prop gags was enough so they didn't bother with a decent story. Siskel & Ebert's review of this was spot on. The story is kind of adult, but it lacks a crescendo, and isn't deep enough or interesting enough to be entertaining. And there are many aspects of the story that wouldn't be engaging for kids. It seems like they tried to tick both boxes, like the best family movies do, but they didn't succeed.

'WTF You Thought' has a wack hook and the final two tracks are below average for me but the rest are decent. I don't know how much replay value this has though. It depends on how much you just wanna here spittin' because the hooks are lacking. The production is also pretty similar for a number of these songs too. 'Rolling 110 Deep' is just 40 minutes straight of 110 artists rhyming for 8 bars each. As astonishing as that is, as hinted at by Slay at the end of the song, it was bettered in 2023 with 'Rolling 200 Deep' that lasts for 63 minutes. Best Tracks: Intro - 72 Bar Assassin, Extravagant Lifestyle, Rolling 110 Deep

This starts off slowly. The opener sounds very mid '00s. 'Screwed Up' is a bore with an average Lil Wayne verse. 'Against All Odds' is the first good song that features more likeable production and a 2pac verse from Big L's 'Deadly Combination' and it gets better from there. Best Tracks: Against All Odds, Life Goes On, Smile, Give My Last Breath (Interlude), Give My Last Breath

I originally gave this a flat 7/10, but I think even I underrated this project. From the few user reviews here, I don't see any reasons given for the low ratings, so I'm not sure what people dislike about it. Hearing 'Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II)' come on was a nostalgic moment. I think that was one of the early songs I downloaded back in the day as I was getting into hip hop and checking out all the acclaimed artists. It's still great. The production is engaging throughout the album and the rapping doesn't fall away too much when Pac isn't at the forefront. There are some catchy hooks too, that was a strength of Pac, like on 'High Speed' - "Whatcha gonna do when you get outta jail? / I'm gonna buy me a gunnnn". The closer, 'Y'all Don't Know Us', is one of the few weak moments. Best Tracks: Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II), As the World Turns, Black Jesuz, Hell 4 a Hustler, High Speed, Tattoo Tears