While looking forward to this album as I do with anything Nas has involvement in, I never had high expectations as the other half of this collaboration, Damien Marley, is someone whose material I haven't enjoyed too much. However, I did love their collaboration, 'Road to Zion', which was easily the best song on Marley’s grammy award-winning 'Welcome to Jamrock', so there was some hope for some great songs, if not a great album. However, after plenty of spins, I'm fairly happy with the quality we have received, and I probably like this more than I thought I would. It's a very cohesive album with a constant theme throughout, lyrically and on the boards. It's one of those albums, because there are some great tunes, particularly at the beginning of the album, the slightly weaker tracks do grow on you the more you listen. As just mentioned, it does start off great with Nas and Damien trading lines in the opener which does give any track afterwards a hard task in bettering it, however, all of the first three tracks are very good. And while there are a few slightly weaker tracks like 'Land of Promise', it is easily one of the more consistent albums that you'll hear these days. To the artists, and when Nas does get the chance to rhyme on this he impresses, with a similar flow to that on his last album. The fact he is spitting similarly themed lyrics probably adds to that feeling. Damien Marley is also good vocally, and you couldn't get a much more distinctive pair. Although sometimes, particularly when is trying to sing/rap fast, his accent makes it hard to completely comprehend the lyrics. Their styles do combine for something unique though. Overall, the sixty-two-minute duration does fly very quickly even after many listens, which is always a good sign an album ain't too bad. Also, pulling off a six-minute song can sometimes be a challenge in hip hop but 'Strong Will Continue' particularly, feels like a general four-minute tune. The only criticism and why this doesn't get a higher rating from me - is probably that it lacks that one or two more really great songs. Collaborations like this are generally hard to pull off but the Distant Relatives have created a very cohesive crossover album that is hard to place in particular genres. If you enjoy what Nas has been doing on his past couple of albums and a touch of Reggae/R&B, this should be a likeable album for you. Best Tracks: As We Enter, Tribes at War, Strong Will Continue, Friends, Dispear, Nah Mean, Africa Must Wake Up

I enjoy Daft's debut, I heard it a lot as a kid when my sibling played it, and I heard this a fair bit as well, but my memories of it aren't as positive. In terms of the sound it would be the equivalent of a rapper going from gangster rap to pop rap with their second album. I always hated 'One More Time', which I didn't even think was a Daft Punk for such a long time because it is so soft. Given that, I'm surprised the majority think it is better. 'Superheroes' develops into being '70-s'80s influenced, as is 'Veridis Quo'. The majority of the best songs here are like that, with some '70s and' 80s electronic influences, that remind me of a lot of Frédéric Mercier's music. Best Tracks: Aerodynamic, Superheroes, Veridis Quo, Short Circuit

A fairly well done biographical piece about the second Native American Olympic gold medal winner, Billy Mills, at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Being Native American, there are obviously some racial issues Billy had to struggle through which makes for interesting viewing, but if you have seen other sport dramas there isn't much surprising here by way of plot. The racing scenes though are done well, and having watched the real thing, the upset victory is quite accurate to what occurred in '64, where Billy beat favourite, Ron Clarke. The film never reaches real high points though, and sometimes it moves too quickly without completely establishing relationships and characters. Recommended though to fans of track & field, particularly for the story of one of the biggest underdog victories in track and field history!

Parts of this are too uneventful and uninteresting for an action movie of this kind, and the action in the last half of the movie isn't great enough to redeem it. While not expecting much, the character development is poor, Arnie's dialogue at times sounds like it is being channelled by the T-800 and it isn't as comedic as I expected either. I also found parts of the fight scene at the movie's conclusion to be badly directed. Hopefully, Arnie's move back into film gets better from here. An average action movie overall.

Warren, like his close west coast friend Snoop Dogg, couldn't back up a memorable debut with a valuable follow up. There are alarm bells from the opening song 'Annie Mae'. Like on 'Regulate... G Funk Era', Warren teams up with Nate Dogg and it isn't terrible but it is absolutely nowhere near 'Regulate'. The next few songs come and go. On 'Young Fun', my mind that has been tarnished by society, always waits to hear "cum" instead of "fun" on the hook. It begins to improve a little bit with the following songs as more featuring artists appear, with 'We Brings Heat' being the first song to catch my attention with its vibey laidback beat. 'Transformers' uses the Transformers theme as the inspiration for its hook which is worth noting. I have the version with 'What's Love Got to Do With It' which was originally only on the 'Supercop' soundtrack. Like 'I Shot the Sheriff', thanks to the memorable chorus, both of these songs are standouts. Erick Sermon's remix is also dope, offering a very different feel. The second half is definitely stronger than the first and there are some good songs, but most of it comes and goes. Warren isn't the greatest rapper and more often than not needs something special in the production department for it to be an excellent track. Best Tracks: We Brings Heat, Back Up, What's Love Got to Do With It, I Shot the Sheriff/Remix