The intro called "Billy Skit" is cooler than the average rap album intro, although it is somewhat typical (talking over a partial beat),  what Billy says is a little more potent and deeper than any into on your sell-out, glamour-loving, Versace wearing dorks.

Then, the first real song comes in "Breaking The Rules" produced by DJ Premier comes in... It's not as hard and fast as I expected but still... it's a good song. It's about how these rappers are out here breaking the rules and these emcees are going to punish them... hard!

The next song is "4 Alarm Blaze" featuring Tef and Jay-Z. This uses the rock out sample of "The Eye Of The Tiger" from Rocky III. The sample is funny at first but in all honesty, I would like it better if it was a straight hard hip-hop beat and not rock/fusion thing. Tef laces it good but he doesn't leave a lasting impression like Jay-Z who  has a cool flow and voice. Of course, he raps about how much money he has. He claims that he has enough cream to kill and hide out for a long time without worry.

"Blood, Sweat & Tears"  is a pretty cool song. It displays the hardships and sorrow of living in the ghetto. It's a slap in the face wake up call. Even though the beat is slow, the vocals of these two maniacs will wake someone out of a coma.

"Down 4 Whatevea" features O.C. and is smokin'. This joint is hard to the core and takes no prisoners. O.C. does a pretty good job too of rhyming but I like Fame the best so far...

"Facing Off" is a dope song which is cool because the song completely changes in the middle. The beat and melody switches. Finally, a risk is taken in a rap record! This should happen more in hip-hop records! This is one turbulent, violent hardcore track!

"My Kinda N*gga Part II" features Heather B again... She does a good job and does not sound corny like on "All Glocks Down". Unfortunately, this song is not as good as the first one because of the lyrics, chorus, and beat which are different. The Beatminerz produce a good beat still, not as good as the original.

The next song is blazing hot and it's called "I Luv" featuring Freddie Foxx. You may remember him from "The Militia" from Gangstarr. Everyone does a dope rhyme on this song and the beat is smoking hot because of DJ Premier's masterful turntable wizardry! It's about being willing to fight and kill for what you love. Freddie Foxx is dope! Completely hardcore... not one atom is soft.One of the dopest songs on the album.

Next, "Salute Part II" features Guru and has Premier doing the beat. This is a dope song too! Though the beat is slow, Fame and Billy give it a tremendous energy which adds a nice contrast to Guru's laidback smooth but angry vocals. DJ Premier adds dope scratches and slices from "Handle Ur Bizness": "Is this hip-hop? Hell no! This is war!" and then he uses a slice from an older M.O.P. jam where Fame yells: "Heavy Artillery in my facility". This is one of the dopest jams on the album!

"Ride With Us" is a cool song which extremely hard too. The only problem is that in the chorus they make the sounds of blasting guns with their mouth after they say :"Bust shots n*gga! We don't give a f*ck! Buck-buck buck-buck buck-buck buck-buck buck-buck" It would have been cooler if they used samples of real gun fire.

The next is a remix of "Handle Ur Bizness" by DJ Premier. This is a dope song! I heard the original rock-out version which is completely insane and choatic. I like this one just as much if not better. "Hande your bizness, kid get a grip! Can I get a witness?? Ghetto people! Your dreams have now been fufilled.Grip your steal! AGGGGHHHH!" You don't need your chorus to rhyme... that's what makes the song even crazier... It gets you amped!

"Fly N*gga Hill Figga" is a cool song but does not stick on you like the others. It was produced by M.O.P. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, it's just not as dope as the rest. The same goes for "What The Future Holds" which states that you never know what's going to happen.

Premier produces his last track next on "Downtown Swinga '98". This is a dope track which is a little unlike typical M.O.P. It's rough and hard but has them going down town to swing. Everything about it is slamming!

There's another "Fame Skit" which is cool like the intro.

Then, "Brooklyn/Jersey Get Wild" is next featuring Treach from Naughty By Nature. This is a cool song. Although I don't really like Naughty By Nature, this M.O.P. song is dope because of Fame and Billy and the shout out to my home state of New Jeru!.

The album ends on "New York Salute" which is a cool track that big ups NY. It doesn't shine like the dopest tracks but it's no where near wack. Overall, this album will fufill any need for raw-dog, hungry, angry, rip-the-mic, hip-hop music.

If Mos Def and Tweli Kalib are bringing hip-hop back to the African American roots, M.O.P brings it back underground with to the raw essense of power. These are powerful vocalists on a powerful album! There is not one wack track on the album... not one commercial or sell-out track! Because of that, there probably will not be any radio airplay (although I heard "4 Alarm Blaze", "Salute Part II" and "Handle Ur Bizness" on Hot 97... really late at night). The beats are slamming, especially Premier's beats. He just steals the show DJ-wise due to the scratches and sample use. No one can touch him. The album would probably be perfect if he produced the whole thing. It's obvious that the strongest cuts are produced by him. Still, the other producers give it some variety. Lyrically, all of the rhymes are about survival, guns, getting money, hustling, family, violence, and hip-hop. It's all mixed together... There's not one song about one topic.. Every song has a theme but the lyrics are the usual. They are not the most intelligent or deepest lyrics but they are strong and wild enough to not be considered anywhere near stupid or wack. The delivery is constant too. The yelling and insane scream of M.O.P. is dope but it would have been cool if they did one or two tracks where they talked their rhyme or rapped it with a lower voice projected from their lower diaphram. Like Onyx, M.O.P. eats the mic and sh*ts it out on your face with their yelling but Sticky Fingaz from Onyx   mixes it up when he changes his voice on a couple of songs. This would be a perfect album if M.O.P. did it and did not have to rely on Guru to do it for them. The album flows like an avalanche. It's one hard beating after the other that has a tremendous energy. None of it is boring and the songs are just as diverse enough to distinguish them apart from each other. As for originality, there is no one else out in the hip-hop industry like M.O.P. except for Onyx. Both groups are deep into their ghetto roots, don't give a f*ck, and give the track a tremendous energy. As for creativity, they don't really break any new ground thought they try with "4 Alarm Blaze" and "Facing Off" I got to give them that! There is not one weak beat on the album and there are no corny lyrics about Versace, fine wine, or any of that playa crap. It's hard... rugged neva smooth! So, prepare to be mashed out by this posse because for their life, they will put their family first! They don't bs nor do they f*ck around. This is a dope album and I think it should be mandatory for any hardcore, street-life, underground hip-hop lover. M.O.P., I salute them....
Beats: 9/10,
Lyrics: 8.5/10,
Flow: 8.5/10,
Creativity/Originality: 8.5/10,
Production: 9/10,
Hardcore Rating: 10/10.
[ Overall Rating: 8.9/10 ]