There are some boring moments here, and the album staggers to its conclusion, but when it hits, it hits hard with some great songs. Janelle Monáe kick starts her career by stealing the show with her features, with Scar's vocals upping the ante with his contributions and even Wayne bringing his non-annoying self for a change to make 'Hollywood Divorce' one of the better songs.
Fitting in with the theme of the movie, 'Idlewild', there are an assortment of sounds like the blues 'Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)' but others such as 'BuggFace' sounds like it would fit perfectly in amongst their older work on 'Speakerboxxx'. As mentioned, the album finishes quietly, but it also starts off a little lackluster. 'Morris Brown' should have been higher up the tracklist to give the beginning of the album some more oomph as the first couple of songs just lack enough bite.
This obviously isn't their best, and could have used some more quality control, but you can't hate this too much for the best it offers.
Beats: ★★★☆
Rapping/Bars: ★★★★
Hooks: ★★★☆
Best Tracks: Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me), Morris Brown, The Train, Hollywood Divorce, Call the Law, BuggFace, In Your Dreams, PJ & Rooster