Reviewer: Droopy aka Druid the Conqueror

Biases: I'm big on mid-90's hip hop, and this album is pretty friggin' tight, kid. It's one of my favorite hip hop albums that nobody knows about, so I can pull it out on heads and they be like, "Yo, that joint is kinda bangin'; who is it?" and I be like, (in mock Braxton Hartnabrig from the Jamie Foxx Show voice) "Aaaaaaaahhhh!". But alas, I had to go and blab to y'all about it, destroying the elitism of mine ownership of it. Ah well. Me and my biggie-sized mouth.

People Who Should Dig It: Lovers of gangsta-assed, hardcore East Coast hip hop ish, Money Boss Player fans, Wu-Tang fans, and lovers of the Pete Rock technique (adding a minute of "bonus beat" to an already-hot track).

People Who Should Approach With Caution: Cats who are into variation in lyrical content and delivery when it comes to their emcees.

People Who Should Stay Away: Cats who strongly value "conscious" lyrics.

The Breakdown: With "The Turnaround", K-Def and Larry-O, collectively known as Real Live, offer up a raw dish of mid-90s New York-ness. Nothing for the radio here, folks. Nothing romantic, either (unless you count Larry-O's crass skit in which he propositions his ladyfriend to an evening with "my niggas"). The residing theme here is, in Jigga's words, "money, cash, hoes". Mattafact, that's really the album's only drawback; a sort of monotony in tone and theme. A lot of the songs, while not straight up weak, just don't stand out, you know? But the album picks up in the second half with the single "Real Live Shit" and my personal favorite "Crime Is Money". Ill beat, man.

And the true gem of the album is the remix of "Real Live Shit" featuring Ghostface Killah the Starksologist, Cappadonna the Slang Editor, Lord Tariq of the Money Boss Players, and Killa Sin of the criminally slept-on Killarmy. This joint is a treat for Wu-Gambino fans, with even the chorus being spat in Wu-bonics: "Hot rock slang, reversible talk, sound check architect, mega talk show...kings politic quick, we on some real live thug shit." All said, if you account for the fact that this album's strength lies in the beats, which were crafted in an era before "sample" became a bad word, then hip hop fans should enjoy Real Live.