I don’t rate JD too highly, but at least he had his own sound. You can’t take that from him. This project, though, doesn’t hold up the same way. It blends into everything else with the same trap-influenced beats and the same mumble rappers delivering verses with all the energy of someone who just got bad news. 'Atlanta' is the first track with some spark, bringing a touch of soul as CeeLo croons smoothly. The follow-up stands out thanks to Ludacris dropping actual bars. It’s refreshing to hear some proper rapping. 'Turn Around' is passable, again mostly because the weaker rappers sit this one out. There's nothing this is adding to the saturated trap rap game. Beats: ★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★ Hooks: ★★ Best Tracks: Atlanta, Ass Shake, Married to the Game

Almost entirely produced by Organized Noize, you can hear the OutKast sound but there aren't any songs I like enough on this. Cool Breeze is no Andre or Big Boi. The bookends are poor. The interludes make the album feel longer than it is. I've seen this discussed as a hidden gem, but I'm not feeling it. Beats: ★★★ Rapping/Bars: ★★☆ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: Watch for the Hook (Dungeon Family Mix), Cre-A-Tine, E.P.G.H, Weeastpointin'

This isn't as strong as 'Retaliation, Revenge and Get Back 2' which is still my highest rated 2025 album. That had a lot of contagious songs. This is full of mostly solid tracks but the highs aren't as high, (which is expected with another album in such a short space of time), and the lows are a little lower with songs like 'I Cant Fucc Wit U'. Daz also said this would only be released physically, which is a disappointing lie to tell to fans. Best Tracks: We Shoot Bacc, B4 I Let Go, Glock 19z & Caskets, Its a Murder Rap, What U Really Want

For a man who once took six years-and eight before that-between albums, it’s surprising to see this land barely ten months after 'Man Down'. The lead single, 'Before Hip Hop', is more than solid, feeling like a sequel to 'Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It'. Beyond that, though, the excitement fades. 'Freedumb' is the next highlight, opening with some comedy-"Why is the internet not working?"/"Why are you not working?"-before moving into a likeable beat where Cube critiques our reliance on AI and tech. 'It’s My Ego' returns from his last project, now featuring a fan-submitted verse from a competition Cube ran. (Honestly, mine was better written). I’ve criticised Cube’s increasingly simplistic rhyme schemes on recent projects, and here they’re maybe at their weakest. I respect that he is still trying to bring some content to his music, but there are lots of ABC-rhymes, often sounding like off-the-dome freestyles. The production doesn’t help. The beats are flat, hooks forgettable, and there’s little in the way of strong melodies. While 'Man Down' is a better album, like that, this begins okay, but decreases in quality as it progresses. I can’t help but wonder if these tracks were recorded specifically for this album, perhaps rushed to align with his upcoming tour, or if some were leftovers. His last three albums have shared a samey production style, and this one follows suit. It also sticks to the trend of short tracks. Longer run-times wouldn’t necessarily save what’s here, but two-minute songs rarely have the space to become catchy or memorable. Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like one of the downsides of modern music. It's also a shame that a rare modern verse from Scarface's isn't given a better beat on 'Act My Age'. While nothing here is terrible, most tracks hover around the 2.5–3/5 range, with little that stands out. If Cube is to make another album, he needs to sharpen the pen, and bring in new producers. Maybe do what LL did and get someone like Q-Tip to produce a whole project. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★☆ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: Freedumb, Before Hip Hop, It’s My Ego 1. Man Power 66 2. What You Gonna Do About It? 60 3. Freedumb 70 4. Guess What? 55 5. Forget Me If You Ain’t Wit Me 53 6. Before Hip Hop 80 7. Act My Age 65 8. Ratchet Ass Mouth 50 9. Respect My Space 52 10. California Dreamin’ 53 11. That Salt and Pepper 50 12. Bring Everybody 50 13. It’s My Ego 70 14. All Work No Play 65

I’ve been checking out DJ Clue’s 'The Professional' series this past week, and I’d say this is the strongest of the three. The first volume is mostly solid East Coast rap, the second slips in quality, but this one stands out with a wider variety of sounds. While it’s less consistent than part one, the highs here make up for it. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★★ Best Tracks: War, A Week Ago Part I, Like This, Liberty Bell, The Animal, A Week Ago (Part 2), Uptown 1. War Dope beat and the best of the three Nas songs from these 'Professional' Clue projects. The Game used this beat for a complete song called 'Gutter' where I first heard it and played it on repeat. I don't know why, but it has no producer credits on Discogs but is credited as a Scott Storch beat elsewhere. I can't believe though they didn't think this was worthy of a full three verse track. The production is fire! 2. Clear Da Scene Sounds very mid-'00s and hasn't aged well. 3. Fuck Off Decent hardcore hip hop but the hook could do more. 4. The Gold Softer hook here sampling 'The Golden Lady' by The Three Degrees setting the tone for the next couple of songs. 5. I Really Wanna Know You This is the worst song. It's the poppiest with Jagged Edge featuring and it gets tedious. 6. A Week Ago, Part I This is good. There is a pop rap feel here, but it balances it well with dark themes. 7. Like This Strong Kanye West production where he provides likeable pop rap. 8. Almost Fucked More pop-rap feel with Snoop this time. 9. Grill & Woman This sounds exactly how you'd expect it to looking at the featuring artists and the year this was released it. It's got that southern bounce. 10. Liberty Bell Philly rappers combine for one of the best songs on the album. Nice production and spitting. 11. Da Boss There's likeable change up in the production before what constitutes a hook with Clue just talking. Good production again. 12. The Animal Who knew that Styles P was known as 'Holiday Styles'? Again, just dope spitting backed by a good beat. 13. Middle Finger U Decent... 14. Giantz of NYC M.O.P. bring their usual energy. Not bad. 15. You Don't Really Wanna 16. Ugly (Thug It Out) Jadakiss carries this with a dope verse. Swizz provides a very Swizz Beatz beat and hook. It feels a little like 'Bath Salts' but not as good. 17. A Week Ago, Part 2 This one just features different lyrics to Part 1. 18. Uptown Blacked out on streaming releases, this is a dope Consequence song from his underrated 'Don't Quit Your Day Job!' album that was released a year after this.