At 18 songs this is the longest Z-Ro album for a while which probably contributed to my early feelings during the first listen - underwhelmed without much catching my attention. It didn't take long for some songs to stick though. The Notorious B.I.G./R. Kelly 'Fuckin You Tonight' 'cover', 'Up in You' is catchy, particularly if you know the inspiration for it. The hook of 'Not a Rapper' is dope as is 'Hi Haters' that has an R&B feel to it that would feel like something R. Kelly would sing over. 'Do for These' is catchy as well. From those few came more. There is no top 10 Z-Ro song here and I'm fiending to hear him over some dark production like what he has on 'Made' instead of some of these R&B influenced tunes, but they work for the singing/rapping stuff he is making. It's a few tracks too long but I'm enjoying this. Best Tracks: Good Guy, Do for These, Hi Haters, Not a Rapper, Up in You, About Me, Always

The album that would start Z-Ro's 20+ years in hip hop. You definitely hear the Pac influence during the album. This features more fast-paced rapping, that Z-Ro does brilliantly, compared to what we hear on his contemporary albums where he sings more often, that we see some of here, but it's predominantly on the hooks. He produces this as well, something that he has continued to do on a number of his albums. As with a lot of Z-Ro projects, the production isn't amazing and the strength is Ro's rapping, vocals and songwriting. The opener, 'Guerilla Till I Die', remains one of my favourite Ro songs from his entire discography. He raps brilliantly, the hook is catchy and the lyrics are interesting. The following title track isn't quite as strong but again features outstanding rapping. 'City of Killers' features a lot of features and the strength is the chorus from Ro. The strongest run of tracks is 'R U Down' to 'Lord Tell Me Why'. This album would be better with fewer features but overall it's the beginning of what Z-Ro would continue to provide for decades; highly skilled rapping, some melodic crooning and consistent albums. Beats: ★★★☆ Bars: ★★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★★ Best Tracks: Guerilla Till I Die, Look What You Did to Me, Life Story, R U Down, Dedicated 2 U, Lord Tell Me Why, Paper Game

There are a number of beats that'll get you bouncing and E-40 is always entertaining, adding in some humous bars and punchlines. For an album with 18 songs, the production does perhaps sound too similar across the album though. An easy fun listen but there aren't enough high moments. Best Tracks: Breakin News, I Got Dat Work, Quarterbackin', If I Was a 5th

Album commandment 101; Thou shalt not begin an album with 90 seconds of boring speech. Once past that, the heat comes. DJ Premier gives us 'Rappaz R. N. Dainja' and 'MC's Act Like They Don't Know' that are great, with the latter being one of KRS's best. 'Free Mumia' is KRS at his emotional best. I love the vibey 'Health, Wealth, Self' that closes the album too. The amount of truly high-quality songs of 'Return of the Boom Bap', that is one of my favourite hip hop albums, aren't here, but KRS went for a different sound with this and it's a consistent piece of work. Best Tracks: Rappaz R. N. Dainja, MC's Act Like They Don't Know, Health, Wealth, Self

I'll start with the unpopular opinion from the jump. I don't get the love for the opener. It sounds overproduced to me. I don't like it at all. The next, 'High End Country', sounds like an average trap song. Nothing to get excited about. 'I Make It Easy' is the first one to get the head boppin'. Some nice rapping from KRIT over a good beat with a soul sample. 'Addiction' would be great without Wayne. Dope as hell beat. Jesus, he is terrible though. Cringe pussy bars, that he does as often as anyone with his annoying fucking voice. He makes it lose a star easy. I need a remix of the song with someone replacing his verse. 'Energy', is one of, if not the strongest song from the 3 EPs he dropped that he has decided to throw on this album. 'Obvious' is decent thanks to its bouncy, poppy beat. 'I Made'-decent trap song. 'Everytime' returns the album back to a soul feel. 'Believe' is strong. It's trap but has more to it productionally than the previous heavy trap songs do. 'Prove It'-I don't love the hook here at all. Sounds like some Future shit. The verses do enough to make it more than decent though. 'Family Matters'-Apart from the Oprah parodying, "You get a plate, you get a plate, you get a plate", part, this is fairly lackluster. The sample aside, 'Blue Flame Ballet' gives off a Devin the Dude feel. Lyrically, it's a standard 'fell in love with a stripper' song, but the production is on-point with some funk and also featuring a good hook. 'Learned from Texas' was another stronger track from the EP's we got. A high energy track with another catchy hook. 'Outer Space'-More trap production. Nothing to get excited about here. 'High Beams' is another weaker song. 'Life in the Sun' is laced with quick percussion and powerful keys and is another favourite. 'M.I.S.S.I.S.S.I.P.P.I.' almost sounds like some Andre Benjamin shit. Funky with some unique rhyme patterns. The last thing I loved from KRIT was 'Cadillactica'. It has a lot of high moments. I don't think this does. A couple of songs scrape in for 4/5, there is too much of a generic trap sound featured and it lacks some of the great production touches and subjects that I think makes the best KRIT music so good. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Believe, Blue Flame Ballet, Life in the Sun, M.I.S.S.I.S.S.I.P.P.I.