This begins well. I've always like Will's 'Wild Wild West' and then Enrique Iglesias' classic, 'Bailamos' (We Dance) is likeable pop. After that, nothing is great. Dre's and Eminem's 'Bad Guys Always Die' is one you'd expect more from given what they were putting out at this time but it's just not that interesting despite trying to interchange and tell a story. The next track that catches my ear is 'I'm Wanted' that has some nice bounce and hardness to the song with a catchily sung hook. Slick Rick's 'I Sparkle' is okay, but again not touching his best solo work. Many songs are poppy R&B that don't go beyond decent. Faith Evan's 'Mailman' is probably the best of them thanks to her vocals. Overall, there are few tracks to go back to. Best Tracks: Wild Wild West, Bailamos, I'm Wanted 1.    Wild Wild West 90 2.    Bailamos 80 3.    Confused 64 4.    Keep It Movin' 60 5.    Getting Closer 60 6.    Lucky Day 66 7.    Bad Guys Always Die 64 8.    Mailman 70 9.    I'm Wanted 72 10.   Hero 60 11.   Chocolate Form 12.   I Sparkle 66 13.   The Best 54 14.   8 Minutes to Sunrise 70 15.   Stick Up 50

I’ve made an effort to keep up with every Buck release over the years, but this one slipped past me. Buck sticks to what he does best here: high-energy bars, punchy hooks, and booming drums that keep your head nodding. It’s straightforward, and while he doesn’t venture far creatively, he knows his lane and rides it confidently. There are also a few refreshing production switch-ups beyond the usual trap sound, especially on tracks like 'Living' and 'Do His Work'. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Songs: Jus Know, Living, Ash Tray, Relationship Goals, Running Off, Wavy, Do His Work

This is a weak Buck tape. He has a lot of worthwhile projects, and he delivers his bars with his usual hi-octane energy, but you can skip this one. It's not levelled properly either with 'That Line' sounding much quieter than every other song. 'Shoot Off' has Scarface like keys that is promising at first, but it doesn't live up to the hype. Beats: ★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: Tap In, Sauce

This is pretty standard boom bap. These producer albums are rarely as good as the artists’ solo projects. They come, perform their verse, most of which are decent here, but then the job’s done. There are the light standouts like, ‘Out for the Cash’ (Common, Al’ Tariq, Fat Joe, The Beatnuts) and the funky ‘What It Look Like' (Def Jef) that are elevated by some top verses. Sonically, the album leans into thick drums, dusty loops, and turntable cuts that were a hallmarks of the era and the production is tight, but rarely surprising or anything fans of the genre haven’t heard before. It plays things safe, staying squarely in the gritty East Coast arena, albeit by a Japanese producer, without sounding like anything too fresh. It's still worth checking out for the amount of talent on the songs, even if there are a couple of artists like Naybahood Watch and Volume 10 who most have probably not heard of. It's worth mentioning too that the versions of this are very different. The Japanese version, that I'm reviewing here, has a number of different songs compared to the US release. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★☆ Hooks: ★★☆ Best Tracks: Game of Death (Erick Sermon), What It Look Like (Def Jef), Out for the Cash (Common, Al’ Tariq, Fat Joe, The Beatnuts)

This one's a mixed bag, weighed down by more lukewarm moments than you'd expect from a Paris release. No solo album of his has this many mid-tier beats. Tracks like 'Plastic Nation', 'Coinsequences', and 'Invisible Man' fall short of something extra. Still, the highlights are undeniable and never get old. The first half delivers solid material, but the energy dips noticeably at Flavor's solo cut, 'They Call Me Flavor'. As always, Paris closes strong with a fiery extended remix that ends the album on a high note. Beats: ★★★☆ Rapping/Bars: ★★★★ Hooks: ★★★☆ Best Tracks: Can't Hold Us Back, Raw Shit, Hard Truth Soldiers, Make It Hardcore, Field Nigga Boogie (XLR8R Remix)