After enjoying Mario's previous album, 'Turning Point', the album that gave him superstardom, this was a disappointment. There are great moments, but they aren't as vast as 'Turning Point' and there are just more lulls.
As 'Turning Point' did, this begins with a uptempo track that works really well and there are a number of good songs until one of Mario's best ever songs, 'How Do I Breathe', but there are too many skippable moments in the second half with the run from 'Lay in My Bed' to 'Let Me Watch' featuring the biggest offenders. He redeemed himself with the overlooked follow up 'D.N.A.' in '09.
Best Tracks: Go, Crying Out For Me, How Do I Breathe, Do Right
Spice's albums continue to slip since his '97 effort, 'The Black Bossalini'.
It's all okay. 'Murder Man Dance' is the best, largely thanks to its UGK feature, but there is nothing to get excited about. While still having lots of credits to their names, the producers aren't as well known as Spice had previously and the instrumentation is a step below his earlier projects. As the list below shows, there is nothing bad, but I won't be checking for this album again.
Beats: ★★☆
Rapping/Bars: ★★☆
Hooks: ★★☆
Best Tracks: 20/20's, Murder Man Dance, Got Gunz, Gunz & Money, Chocolate Philly
1. Player Pieces 60/100
2. 20/20's 72
3. Who Can I Trust? 64
4. Murder Man Dance 79
5. Got Gunz 74
6. G.A.M.E. 57
7. Thug Thang Y2G 63
8. How We Ride 60
9. Ghetto Soldier 62
10. One Luv 60
11. Gunz & Money 77
12. Chocolate Philly 70
Almost a decade since his last, Marques returns with his seventh album. After seemingly going through the motions on his previous album, there is more to like here with it being evident that more went into this one. In saying that, after a few spins, there aren't any wow moments and that stops me from giving this a higher rating. I think all of his other albums have at least one song that beats anything on this album. The duet with Chrissy 'Let It Go' was the first song to grab my attention and it remains as my pick after further listens.
Best Tracks: Otherside, Let It Go, Just to Have You, Stay, You Don't Know Me
'Mess', with its change up around two minutes in improves it immensely, making it build up to something worth waiting for, but lots of these songs aren't worthy of saving for later and offer very little originality-some of the song titles alone tell the story. There is another version of 'He Aint Me' where Marques drops names of R&B legends like R. Kelly and Usher instead of just saying "he" as found on the album version that is interesting to hear and was a recipe for some potential beef starting. Overall, there isn't much here and it's Marques' least interesting and enjoyable album.
Best Tracks: Mess, Ghetto Angel
Like Joe's previous album, 'Bridges', there is a different vibe here than the contemporary R&B sound from most of his career. I don't think this is as strong from start to finish, but there are still some great moments. It takes a while to warm up with 'So I Can Have You Back' at track four being the first one to get excited about. The final track is a cover of Adele's hit, 'Hello', that Joe kills, and 'So I Can Have You Back' sounds a little like it as well. The other standouts are 'Tough Guy', and the country 'Hollow', proving that Joe sounds good over anything, with 'No Chance' and 'Hurricane' bubbling under. The one track with a rap feature, 'Happy Hour' with Gucci Mane, is one of the weaker on offer but adds to the variety of sounds on the album. As I write this in 2023, this is Joe's last album, as he said it would most likely be at the time of release.
Best Tracks: So I Can Have You Back, Hollow, Tough Guy, Hello
