This Is How We Do It
Artist: Montell Jordan
Community Score: 7.00

Montell Jordan was blessed with a strong set of producers for his debut album, This Is How We Do It. Working with material that is essentially sub-par, the production team turns in a seamless performances, creating hooks and melodies from the deep bass and beats. Jordan's skills as a rapper are fine -- he does nothing particularly noteworthy,... Read More

T.H.U.G.S.: Trues Humbly United Gatherin' Souls
Artist: Flesh-N-Bone
Community Score: 9.18

Flesh-N-Bone's solo release is a continuation of the rapid-fire delivery of lyrics patented by Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. The words come so fast you're forced to listen intently to identify them. Lots of preaching and sermonizing here; the first cut uses lines from the "Lord's Prayer," while "Reverend Run Sermon" features Run (of Run-DMC) preaching a... Read More

Hemp Museum
Artist: B-Legit
Community Score: 5.00
Can You Feel Me
Artist: Dru Down
Community Score: 10.00

Can You Feel Me is a revelation, proving that Dru Down has rhyming skills far superior to most of his West Coast gangsta rap brethren. While the music isn't stylistically different from G-funk, it is catchier and more memorable than many sub-Dre productions. More importantly, Dru Down is a terrific rapper, capable of laconic phrasing like Snoop... Read More

11-20-79
Artist: Mona Lisa
Community Score: 9.23
Legal Drug Money
Artist: The Lost Boyz
Community Score: 9.07

Legal Drug Money covers the same themes that many other hip-hop artists were covering in the mid-'90s. The Lost Boyz rap about getting high, being rich, and other topics typical of the genre. The best track on this album is easily "Renee," a song about a woman who fell in love with an MC but gets killed. Smif-n-Wessun's Dah Shinin and Heltah... Read More

The Natural
Artist: Mic Geronimo
E 1999 Eternal
Artist: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
Community Score: 8.59

Following the surprise success of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's summer 1994 anthem "Thuggish Ruggish Bone," the group returned a year later with E 1999 Eternal, an impressive debut full-length that dismisses any notion that the group was merely a one-hit wonder. From beginning to end, the album maintains a consistent tone, one that's menacing and... Read More