I had to double check that this was the same Pooh Man/MC Pooh who dropped some underrated gems like 'Ain't No Love' and 'Judgement Day' because the music is so damn soft. 'Lay You Down' is a bit more of a sex song, but elsewhere the EP is full of love songs with emotionally sung hooks and is a far-cry from his future work that is a lot harder. Best Tracks: Lay You Down

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