Alright! My mans Kool G. Rap is back in full effect! Well...sort of. I would call this more of a family affair (a la Jay-Z's "Dynasty La Familia to get an idea) with the crew: Ma Barker, Hammerz, and Glory Wars. Kool G Rap is about to rep things for the Queensbridge side of things. However, he's not messing with a major label anymore. Instead, he's doing this from his own Igloo Entertainment. So, this time around, he's gonna make the music that he wants to make. I must say this one thing about the album: the production remains on point, for what I hear through the speakers. "I Die For You" starts things off with the opera-type beats and sped up samples that has invaded the hip hop landscape. However, Kool G. Rap and his cohorts do this thugged shit just as good as anybody else, if not slightly better. Live nigga raps inspired by these beats can only work, as the listener can visualize crack pavements, Timbs, blunts, and crooked cops. "Cold World" incorporates singing in a way that works. It's not overwhelming. Instead, it only accents, which what some singing should do in a lot of hip hop songs. With many references to the "cold world", Kool G. Rap spits "Ain't no more paper routes, so I rather go the paper route". To get sentimental with things, you have the tracks like "Never Gonna Let You Go", "Takin' Over", and "Air U Out". "Air U Out" is that song that Kool G. has to dedicated to wifey. Its that song that tells the woman of his life to not be disrespectful by cheating and playing games or she needs to step. "Don't really care what you peers about, I catch you cheatin girl, I air you out..." repeats in the chorus over a soothing yet sinister beat. "Never Gonna Let You Go" is Ma Barker's dedication right back at Kool G. Rap, with lines like "He the type that hit it right from the night to the morn, ditch his boy, throw me on the back of his bike and we gone!...". From that standpoint, I can feel the connection between them. Even though this hood mentality over beats concoction is becoming run of the mill, I can say that Kool G. Rap and the 5 Family Click actually does it a little better than most. Maybe it's the heart they put into the music or the time they take on the rhymes. Whatever the case may be, if you like your shit gully, then cop this one quickly. You will be satisfied! - Darcwonn