When Obie says the second round’s on him, he seems to be talking about guns rather than a nice pint of ale down the local. I suppose it’s what you expect of the genre, though the tiresome obsessions with self and violence spoil the early part of this sprawling monster of an album. There are good moments, and these tend to be the ones with guest artists – Akon, Eminem and 50 Cent all contribute. The opening twenty minutes is pretty miss-able, but by the middle Obie sounds more urgent, the beats are heavily bassed up and the lyrics becoming more profound. That said, there are better relatively recent examples of this genre from The Game and Twista, to name just two. Fleetingly good but ultimately frustrating.
2 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: BEN HOGWOOD
