Nothing here surprises too much, be it the production or the content, with some conscious themes about race, gangsta rap, sex and horrorcore - It's the Geto Boys after all. There's no fast skip (with 'This Dick's for You' being the closest thing to that) or anything at the other end of the scale that is amazing either. 'Bring It On' is dope but I'm not sure it needed to be quite so long at 8 minutes. There are some familiar samples like on 'No Nuts, No Glory' with Millie Jackson's 'I Cry' that has been used to help create better songs. 'Cereal Killer' is worth mentioning as it sounds perhaps like a hardcore take on LL's 'Milky Cereal' where Scarface tells a murderous tale, with the victims being portrayed as cereal mascots/names of cereals. All in all, this is a good album hovering around a 3.5 out of 5. 'Crooked Officer' has a catchy hook, but a number of these don't. The best moments aren't high enough for me to push this to a 4 either. I wonder if the Rap-A-Lot artists wanted these boring J Prince intros and outros on their album... Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: It Ain't, Crooked Officer, No Nuts No Glory, Raise Up, Straight Gangstaism, Bring It On

Again from a No Limit Records release, the production isn't groundbreaking. For a '97 album, some of it sounds quite dated and almost like it has '80s hip hop influences. The opener is okay with very No Limit-esque production. You hardly hear Mia on it with C-Murder, Master P, Mystikal and Silkk The Shocker featured and Mia not on the chorus either. Master Ps "Ughhhhhs" on 'The Party Don't Stop' are as annoying as selfish dog owners. The song is better than 'You Don't Wanna Go to War' but Master P's adlibs ruin it. We hear more of Mia X on 'I Pitty U' being 100% her. The production is more melancholic and works well. From there, I can see listeners thinking the best track was lots of different songs here. As Mystikal always did, he kills features with his additional energy making 'Let's Get It Straight' my pick. Mystikal over hard production can't lose. Elsewhere, 'Hoodlum Poetry' is worth mentioning with Mia rapping/reading poetry for 5 minutes straight. The final quarter of the album is more sentimental/introspective and less gangsta including a song about Mia's late sister, 'RIP Jill'. Like most No Limit albums that I've checked out, the rapping is likeable, but isn't the best of the best, minus some Mystikal features, and there isn't enough if any great moments. A light 3 out of 5. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: I Pitty U, I'll Take Ya Man '97, Let's Get It Straight, Mama's Family, I Don't Know Why, Hoodlum Poetry

After the initial jaw drops, lyrically, this is a boring album. She should have named it 'Eat My Pussy'. 'Big Momma Thang' is okay but it gets boring from three minutes in and the same could be said for a number of tracks that follow. The opening is fairly underwhelming but it gets better from 'Crush on You'. 'Queen Bitch' is my pick from the album as the production is dope, Kim flows well (probably her best rapping on the album), Biggie adds to the song, and it's one of the few that doesn't get somewhat boring. Kim has attitude, and based on the lyrics she doesn't give one iota about what people think about her but there is nothing else she does often enough as a rapper that is noteworthy. She also goes missing on some songs like the finale and 'Crush on You' where she is only on the hook. Kim says she was pregnant and sick and just wanted the album out, hence not having a verse on that song. She was an important figure for females in hip hop, perhaps negatively contributing to the long list of xx chromosome rappers who thought they just needed to rap about sex to sell, but I don't know, not enough grabs me. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: Crush on You, Drugs, Queen Bitch, Dreams

I thought Ed sounded like Killer Mike on his debut, and it's even more prominent here - or should I say, Killer Mike sounds like him. It's not just the voice though, it's also how he spits and the music he makes. Some of these would've sounded right at home on Killer Mike's 'Monster'. He is off No Limit Records here, but Beats by the Pound handle many of the beats here meaning it doesn't sound like he ventured too far off the famous label. It loses some steam with some of the sex tracks like 'F'ckgest' and 'Watching U', it does overstay its welcome at 73 minutes in duration, and the production isn't great, but there is some pretty good hardcore hip hop here. Ed is a dope rapper who is/was deserving of more attention as well. He also knows where he stands - "I'm not the tightest, that's Mystikal," he spits on the hard as nails opener, 'I Am the Hardest'. He would've been better keeping this below an hour, but it's from the era of CDs being filled. Around a 3 outta 5. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: I Am the Hardest, Battlefield (spelt incorrectly as 'Battelfield' on Spotify), Don't Play With Me, Armageddon

A while a go I was trying to check out more No Limit records and I have returned to that venture with this project. Firstly, this is a long album, running at 79 minutes, and it definitely feels like one. Too many songs sound the same with similar rapping throughout the eighteen songs. They rap with some passion, but there is nothing the Gambino Family do that is something different. Most No Limit albums are packed with features, and maybe this has fewer than most, but it still has a lot for an album with a group made up of four rappers. As is often the case with the No Limit roster, when Mystikal jumps in the booth for a feature, he stands out like a sore thumb. Some of the production gets repetitive too. 'So Much Drama' is the only thing to grab me. Not one of the better albums from The Tank. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: I'm a Baller, Trapped in a Storm, Only Gs Ride, So Much Drama, 2 All My Thug Niggaz