Big Moe's 'City of Syrup' has a solid reputation anywhere you look but I'm not feeling this one too much. Some of the production is poor and some of the features like Z-Ro steal the show from Big Moe who never impresses me. While 'Maan!' bangs to a certain extent, it tries to be Black Rob's 'Whoa!' but is not as catchy or as well produced. The skits are uninteresting, too long and make the album feel bloated. 'Payin' Dues' borrows from Santana's 'Maria, Maria' and Wham!'s 'Careless Whisper' but it doesn't work too well and sounds amateurish as does some of the other production. Best Tracks: We Da Shit, I'll Do It, I Wonder, X (time) 4 Change

Being an '80s hip hop album this sounds a lot like I'd expect it to and that isn't a great thing. The production features fairly minimalist drums with some sampling thrown in as the melody on many of the tracks. Tone is okay, but the rapping including some of the lyrics are a far cry from the best of them. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: On Fire (Remix), Cutting Rhythms, Next Episode, Cheeba Cheeba, Lōc'in on the Shaw

What you've got here is some enjoyable mainstream R&B. While lacking a great song, ('Breathe' could be argued to fit into that category), the consistency is quite high from go to whoa with a number of different sounds present. Blu's mum was a jazz singer and that come-up shows on some songs. This album does interestingly have three songs from her debut; 'Hit 'Em Up Style (Ooops!)', 'All You Had to Say' and 'Swingin'', that is odd to see. Perhaps it was to try to capitalise on the success of 'Breathe'. Surprisingly, after being nominated for best R&B album at the Grammys and having the hit, 'Breathe, minus a single and mixtape or two, this was the last we've heard from Blu. If you enjoy the '90s/early '00s sounding R&B, that is a genre that doesn't seem to exist in the mainstream anymore, this and her debut are worth checking out. Best Tracks: I Love You, Sleep in the Middle, Breathe (Rap Version), Hit 'Em Up Style (Ooops!), Don't Wanna Say Goodbye, All You Had to Say, Holding on to Love, Swingin'

As anyone who has heard it will know, 'Teardrops' is amazing. The following 'Good Man Monologue' is another one of the better songs. The funky closer 'Celebrate the World' feels a touch like the O'Jays 'Love Train'. Those aside, the other songs don't get me too engaged. Best Tracks: Teardrops, Good Man Monologue

Lately I've been checking out some underheard/lesser known hip hop acts through a kind of 5 degrees of separation thing and here I am with Partners-N-Crime who actually had impressive longevity dropping projects for 20 years from '94. And after being on some lesser known labels, here they land on Rap-A-Lot. Once you hit play I think 'Poo Shooter' will be the first song to make your ears prick up with it's unexpected chorus - "Shake that poo shooter." My ears also pricked up due to the reggae-esque production that I didn't expect after the title track. Elsewhere, there is lots of variety. As the title suggests, the first and titular song is a decent banger, and 'Ohhh' fits into that category as well being backed by electric guitars. 'You Ain't Never' brings in the R&B/pop rap feel and others toe the line between pop rap and street rap nicely. 'Do It Baby' gives off a Miami bass/2 Live Crew vibe. 'Love Jones'' picks up the soul and emotion, sampling 'Love Jones' by Brighter Side of Darkness. It would've been better to end the album with that than going back to a sex themed track with 'That's the Way' to close it out. In some of the recent albums I've checked out, I have wanted more variety in the production department, but I couldn't say that about this album. It's easy to differentiate between the tracks after a spin or two. I've saved a couple of songs to go back to and while there are some "meh" tracks, like 'My P.N.C', it's a fun enough album. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Club Bangaz, You Ain't Never, Don't Hate Me, Love Jones'