I've decided to revisit this one and I think I was way too harsh with my previous rating and was possibly influenced by the haters to be honest. 1. Haters 101 (Skit) 2. Give 'Em Some Mo 54 An underwhelming start. The chorus doesn't differentiated itself enough from verses and the production isn't too enjoyable. It feels more like a filler track than what should be the opener. 3. Fall-N 57 "Doin' it like Donald Trump." It would be interesting to collate pre-POTUS hip hop bars and post about Trump. These rappers sure did a 180. Better than the opener but still one of the weaker songs. 4. Balla Baby 83 "I like them black, white, Puerto Rican, or Haitian / Like Japanese, Chinese, or even Asian." What a classic line! A catchy hook and enjoyable production. The first good song that gets you vibing to the beat unlike the first two tracks. 5. Jackpot the Pimp (Part 2) (Skit) 6. Leave Wit Me 80 R. Kelly was on so many great pop rap songs in the mid '00s. This feels a little like Cassidy's 'Hotel'. Again, the chorus is one to stay in your head. 7. Make That Ass Talk 81 Funky-ass beat here and another catchy hook. 8. I Do 85 This one is from the Need For Speed Underground 2 OST. I don't know if I'd like it as much if I hadn't heard it from that. Yep, another catchy chorus. 9. Don't Worry 91 Another pop rap hit partly thanks to Janet on the chorus. The "don't worry bout a damn thing" line makes me think it was influenced somewhat by Naughty By Nature's 'Feels Good (Don't Worry)' from a couple of years before this dropped. 10. All the Way to St. Lou 62 Nate Dogg is always a welcome voice. The production change up/build up between the verses and chorus is a positive feature but the production is less enjoyable than most of the other songs. You'll enjoy it more than me if you're a fan of David Banner's work. 11. 26's 68 Once again, another catchy hook. 12. We Clubbin' 50 This one feels more repetitive from the chorus to the production. Probably the worst song. 13. We Do 86 "Who controls the British crown?/ Who keeps the metric system down?/We do! We do!" Those lyrics aren't from the song for those not familiar with The Simpsons, but it makes me think of The Stonecutters. Head banging music. 14. Wurr Da 'Git It' Gurlz At? 67 More of the same. By now the album does start to sound a little too familiar. Another decent catchy song though. 15. Bring Da Beef 72 More good production with another example of them nailing the choruses. 16. Outro Just shoutouts. 17. Balla Baby (Remix) 64 The production is similar to the original but feels more bare. 18. What Up Wit It 60 Repetitive but still a bouncy beat. 19. Don't Really Care 52 The album probably didn't need these bonus tracks. As mentioned above, it does all sound a little too similar. After a stumbling start, the quality is consistently dope from 'Balla Baby' to 'Don't Worry' and then there are still some songs to go back to and pretty much nothing to skip until the bonus tracks. The production is almost all good, there are lots of catchy choruses and Chingy, on songs like 'We Do', raps very well. Topically there is nothing noteworthy, that hurts the album, and there are some bad lyrics as pointed out above, but I've always felt he was an underrated rapper from a purely stylistic point of view. He rides a pop rap beat well. and his voice suits them. This album doesn't have the standouts of his debut, but it's more consistent. Beats: ★★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★★ Best Tracks: Balla Baby, Leave Wit Me, Make That Ass Talk, I Do, Don't Worry, We Do

I remember talking to someone about Die Hard 4 and they were critical of the movie because of the astonishingly unrealistic feats that John McClane lives through and I'd say they'd have the same opinion here as it's taken to another level with Ethan Hunt. I preferred the slightly more realistic tone of MI:3 to this. While it grew on me in the second half, I wasn't feeling the first half of the movie much. I think part of that feeling was that I dislike Simon Pegg's character a lot, particularly when he's not just an IT whiz. Why do writers of movies like this think you need comedic elements, or attempts at them? There is no way someone like Benji would be an agent in the field alongside someone like Ethan. It removes any believability the film and series develops. Finally, I am glad there was a twist with Ethan's wife, or otherwise it basically made MI:3 meaningless.

I think this is Game's worst proper solo release. There are really good moments, like 'The Juice', but there isn't one song that I have wanted to play over and over. The beats are above decent, but with all of the samples that have been used on well known records before, particularly during the first half of the album, it feels weird. It's hard not to like anything that samples Foster Sylvers' 'Misdemeanor' as 'Bompton' does, 'The Message' as 'Fuck Orange Juice' does, or Imogen Heap's 'Just for Now' as 'The Soundtrack' does, but all of it just adds to the feeling that I've kind of heard it before. 'Bompton' to 'Young Niggas' is a good run, but those aside, there isn't a lot here that grabs me. Lyrically, Game isn't at his best whether he is saying some stupid lines as he is trying to be conscious in 'Savage Lifestyle' or in the pop-rap songs towards the end of the album. Some of the hooks just seem lazy, and with some more effort and energy in them, the songs could have been taken to the next level. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: Bompton, The Juice, Young Niggas, 92 Bars

I'd just watched the first MI movie a few days before viewing this sequel, and it's like Ethan is a different character. He is so much more smug than the first film. I can see why the villain wanted to knock his smile off his face. Moving from Brian De Palma to John Woo as a director gives this a very different feel and tone. It lacks the same tension as MI, but has more impressive action for the most part. With John Woo, you know you are going to get an overkill of slow-mos. The motorcycle action scenes towards the end of the film are some of the best I've seen and made me think of Terminator 2's iconic chase whilst watching it. To be negative, Thandiwe Newton as Nyah, wasn't impressive at all and in any film with an Australian, they always give them the strongest most stereotypical accent possible, don't they... Finally, check out the slap sound effect added when Nyah hits Sean in the car. They went a little overboard in the editing room there. 3-3.5

I only gave this a two out of five when I listened to it many moons ago, but upon revisiting it, I don't dislike anything. Yes, you can argue the posthumous albums should have well and truly stopped by now, and that these types of albums, with copy and paste verses and lots of features, were damaging 2Pac's legacy, and I understand that argument, but I don't think the music is bad at all here. For one, it feels more authentic than Eminem's 'Loyal to the Game', most of the features bring their A-game, from the rappers to the singers, like Keyshia Cole, who sings her backside off on 'Playa Cardz Right (Female)', and there is lots of respect put on Pac's name throughout the verses. There is a line in 'Pac's Life (Remix)' where Snoop seems to give himself credit for Pac's fame that to me doesn't fit in with the paying homage theme - "Cause I took the focus off of me to put 'All Eyez On you'." The producers did a decent job too with most of the production being likeable. The worst thing here is 'International' with its very '06-ish instrumentation. 'Whatz Next' kind of falls into that category as well and so does 'Pac's Life' with its electronic kind of elements that were so common in the mid-'00s. Elsewhere though, most don't sound dated. The bonus tracks 'Dear Mama (Frank Nitty Remix)' offers a more soulful slant on the hip hop classic with Anthony Hamilton adding his amazing crooning. And then a song from young Pac, 'Scared Straight', is hard as nails and sounds like an outtake from 2Pacalypse Now. Both only have Pac rapping, so they are worthy additions for that aspect as well. If you press play on this album expecting to hear 2Pac most of the time, stay away. Most songs only have one Pac verse, with a couple having two of them, but he's often on the hook in some way. When he is rapping though, his voice still "carries" as he says on 'Don’t Sleep'. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Dumpin', Playa Cardz Right (Female), Sleep, Playa Cardz Right (Male), Don't Stop, Dear Mama (Frank Nitty Remix)