"Cold" is an unusual way to start of an album. The beat is mellow and uses (I think Biz Markie) a sample which sings the hook: "I walked away and I lived too cold" or "I left you cold" It sounds more like a soul song than an R&B hook... It does not sound like the Biz... Anyway, Hell Razah and Prodigal Sunn kick the lyrics in the song about the cold world, the ghetto and kings and queens. It's a cool song but does not start the album off with a bang...

"Natural High" is a cool song which should of kicked the album off. They actually sing the hook in a rowdy way: "We make that music, that moves you body (natural high, natural high)We make that music, that moves you body (natural high, natural high). We got the fire, that gets you higher (natural high, natural high) ..." The beat's cool and the horn sample flows nice.. Killah Priest kicks some dope rhymes that are much more violent than religious and somewhat simple in flow..Still, he does a good job on this song: "Check the royal posture, by the way where's my oscar Crack your legs like a lobster, break your arms Beat you to death, snap your neck Crack your chest, lay you to rest Then confess, I judge wisely All spys, tryin to size me If you phone me, I leave you lonely with the Sony headphones, layin stiff in the dead zone.." It's a cool song that is catchy due to the chorus but not is the rhyme... It's commercial enough to be considered comfortable but wild and werif enough to be underground and hardcore..

"Flaming Swords" is a full on hardcore joint with a dope hard beat and a very menacing piano loop. There's no real chorus.. the Sunz just go off. On this joint, 60 Second Asssassin and Killah Priest steal the show... 60 Sec's rhyme is wild... at one point, he ends each rhyme with the sound "oh"..: "Take you beyond the heights, forever so Doin out little ill weed to Mexico Now who be the next to go - Will it be Sam will it be Fran or will it be Sisqo Or strictly back to disco However though One in my own one, sold Never petro for a death, probe The most sensitive, intensity the world can ever expect Chose, between two steels To keep it real I remember we used to pick cotton out in fields Guide it, real guide it down, yo ..."  Then, Killah Priest has his angry, simple and violent rhymes kicked. It's much different and clearer than anything on his solo joint He rips the mic: "As I break your fuckin bones into pieces - And make your death the sweetest Punch a hole through your cleavege By the way how's Jesus? I hope you been baptized Fucked up meetin' your maker Wit two black eyes, And broken legs, A broken hip an' a I.V. attached to ya.. Arm..I remain calm Before the storm As I shake my javelin up in your abdomen And then I grab your friend And break his fuckin back Watch him collapse And my service clap Standin ovation from the whole nation.. Y'all want more?..I crank the chainsaw.. Next thing ya knowin', his head starts rollin' His body swollen His fuckin tongue is stolen No more growin or colon He's just moanin an' groanin Exciting, clash of the titans Thunder and lightning Reveal the sword of the Viking It's frightening Put down your fists there be no fightin Just sacrificin Tonight is a good night to take your life And leave your carcass in the darkness ..." This is a cool hardcore song which is both hard and strong lyrically and musicaly. The beat pounds as the piano has a thick and menacing feel. Though the singing by one of the Sunz in the begining is a little annoying... it's not too long nor is it too serious.. It's one of the cooler songs on the album which works without a chorus...

"Illusions" features Masta Killah from the main Wu-Tang Clan family. Hell Razah does the chorus which kicks the song off: "This rap game aint what it seems Artists get cream turn fiend Selling people a dream.. " This is repeated about four times each time they say the chorus. This is a cool song with a cool beat but it is way too long!!! One thing which is extremely cool about this song is that towards the end, a guitar sample or sounds (I'm not sure) comes in during the rap... I did not notice it until after a couple of listens but it's really cool sounding plus it adds a freshness to the song. Since it is long, this added instrument or music does not make it as boring as it could be...  I am so glad they added it towards the last half of the song and did not just repeat it throughout the entire song... That is creativity... Still, Masta Killah somewhat steals the show on this joint..

"Shining Star" features Ol' Dirty Bastard and Earth, Wind Fire.. This song, produced by Wycleff of the Fugees is a dope jam!!! Ol' Dirty gives it a wild flava that only he could... Wycleff even plays the guitar through it.... Though I ussually hate R&B hooks, Earth Wind, & Fire do an awesome job on this funked out hook of a classic funk song (not an R&B song) :"You're Shining Star, no matter who you are Shining bright to see and you true to be (When you reachin' for the star, What you see in nights of clear) ..."  On this joint, every one does a good job of rhyming and performing but when talking about lyrics and delivery, Ol' Dirty Bastard has the most memorable rhyme out of all of them:  "When I was young i taught how to produce The science of babies gettin' loose I turn white boys to Springstein Spruce, Blacks to blues To the Chinese I gave Bruce I can't help it if my style is foggy- Words to boogie getcha high on my patio Or come to see me movie Girls your walking on my dirt I'm all in ya hair- Or mike your life plane call hurt (for more motion?)..." This is obviously a single and it should be.. It's commercial enough to sell records and get airplay but cool enough and hardcore enough to maintain their integrity among the Wu-family and hardcore hip-hop fans..

"Israeli News" features Trebag and has a more smoothed out feel with a slicker-type beat and one of those 70's bassline. The beat sounds very happy and the chorus is directed towards their community.: "In the ways of the world today- It's so easy us to stray away -Go to keep our mind from all the drugs, and crime Material things keep us blind..." This song is alright but not one of the cooler ones. The sentiments are a little too preachy especially since they are on the same album with a song called "Natural High"... It's short enough so it's not boring though...

"Tribulations" is a weird song but kind of cool.. In the begining, 60 Sec keeps on repeating: "I ain't want nothing known but a bank roll. On the other side of 123rd St., bro.." This song is more about the reality of the streets and not preaching about what you should do.... Prodigal Sunn does the chorus:  "Life is reality, reality is life People living trife, the world filled with strife The gods living, writing exact, too many lacks Black on black crime, no vest, another victim laided to rest Life is reality, reality is life Niggaz living trife, bitches living sheisty, the gods living, writing exact Too many lacks, black on black crime No vest, another victim laided to rest Life is reality, reality Life is reality, reality Life is reality, reality is life Niggaz living trife, bitches living sheist The gods living, writing exact Too many lacks, black on black crime No vest, another victim laided to rest Life is reality, reality, life is reality Life is reality, reality..." It's a cool song but it's a little too long...

"The Interview" is a useless skit where the Sunz are getting interviewed.. The guy askes stupid, boring questions and they give him crap by asking him "Yo, how much you getting for this?"  It's unneeded... "The Plan" has a soulful hook and a cool, smoothed out beat. The soulful, sampled hook, sung by a woman goes a little like this: "You think you got it all setup - You think you got the perfect plan You think you got it all setup You think you got the perfect plan..." Once again, the Sunz sound very condescending... This is alright but not one of the coolest jams on the album.

"Collaboration '98" features Method Man and Tru Master. This is more like it... Method Man does the hook which he starts off in the begining of the song: "Can't you see my love even though we be with thugs Brothers want grub gotta take it in blood Because is you down or are you down just because Can't you see my love even though we be with thugs..." It's a cool song but Sunz of Man seem all spiritual but on this jam, their thugs???? Well.. Still, it's a cool song, one of the coolest on the album. Of course, Method Man kicks some dope ass rhymes: "Shots in the park, it be on after dark Hungry like the Wolf when the beef starts to cook When push come to shove, we push through the club Pocket full of bud, baby armed with the snub nosed I suppose, you get body-snatched when you doze Recognize your friends from your foes or here lie, another one victimized Left for The Fly..." The weird string samples give it a cool feel andthe beat is very full.. This is a dope song...

"Inmates To The Fire" is another cool song which is produced by Rza and is more like a battle song. The dope opening chorus is perfect for battling emcees: "Tonight is the night you will lose the fight I think you'd better think twice Before you touch that mic You could lose your life When you fuck with the right Tryin to bite You get blasted with the pipe ..."  Once again, the beat is very full and the downward spiral of the melody is cool. There's a cool bassline which is somewhat hypnotic. Everyone's flow is dope too. They are all very fast. 60 Sec rips it up...:"I be the headman, professin, consider it a blessin You next death, only peace that you're restin Or should I say rest in peace Dead respectivly, knocked off your piece Without a store, we stole beef Another example, shitty diaper in my handle My Arm and Hammer, I'm doin stains at random .." The chorus is only in the begining but it's cool that it does not get redundant.. This is a very original and cool hardcore battle joint which strictly has the Sunz of Man emcees. This shows their talent.

"Not Promised Tomorrow" changes the atmosphere again to the bland spiritual aspects of their album. This reminds me of songs off Killah Priest's joint even though he's not even in this song. The chorus goes like this: "Your not promised tomorrow (Word up yo, people dying everyday) We are livin in a bottle (Drugs and gunplay) Be careful what you follow (Open your eyes kid) We got four individuals Each member come together just drop a jewel ..." 60 Sec does do a wild job on his rhymes... Tekethia sings in the background on some of the hook. It's not too annoying since she's only in the background.. Still, it makes it somewhat boring.

"For The Lust Of Money/The Grandz" is a song in two parts. The first part is a skit where "For The Love Of Money" is played in the background while some dude asks them for money and the Sunz proclaim that they want to get Grands not "grams" in a positive way..  They got Grams of knowledge..."The Grandz" has a Tru Master beat with a cool sample in the background.. Obviously, this joint is about getting the paper: "This be the Sunz of Mansion Catch it if you can can Blast this in your house, jail cell, or your Lex land We got the Benjaminz now we got to see some grand grandz, grand grandz! .." It's like every single rap album has a song devoted to cash... This is somewhat sloppy but kind of cool... Not the best song on the album that's for damn sure...

"Can I See You" features Beretta 9 from Killarmy and was produced by Rza and has a very cool errie beat along with some weird effects along with sounds of a cymbol slowly sparkling... As the sample is sung saying: "Can I see you?", the rhymers say the chorus: "The gods stay camouflaged -The gods stay camouflaged The gods stay camouflaged .." This is a cool song but the beat is what really makes it cool. It's very full and vibrantly original. "The Battle" has the Sunz kicking a freestyle... They all do it extremely quick and violent while the guy they battle just.... sucks...

"Next Up" features Method Man. This is a hip-hop classic!!! They each introduce the emcee by kicking something like this verse which introduces Method Man: Hell Razah says"Next up: Method Man" and Meth says, "Yo I believe thats me" and Hell Razah says:"Aiyyo Meth lock it down like LAPD ..." Each emcee is introduced differently... Of course, Method Man rips it: "While you proceed to cut the mustard, I cut the cheese Mr. Freeze givin cold shoulders to MC's The sickest of disease Johnny Blaze at three hundred and sixty degrees My PLO stees is from here to overseas Guerillas in the mist swingin from the highest trees Bombin enemies See me in the global war being all that I can be Camoflauge fatigue, hard headed major league..." It's dope..!!

 "Intellectuals" features U-God and Raekwon.. This is another Dope hardcore jam!!! U-God does a dope chorus which is only done in the middle of the song once..: "Intellectual, rhymin professionals Bring all the ladies, in my  directional- Intellectual, rhymin professionals Bring all the ladies, in our directional Intellectual, rhymin professionals -Intellectual, rhymin professionals Intellectual, rhymin professionals Bring all the ladies, in our directional ..." The beat is dope and the melody along with it is cool too. Raekwon kind of steals the whole show along with U-God but I must admit.. Everyone does a good job on this song.60 Sec rips it once again: "Inevitable, phatable the rhymes, like sensible, yo And when I let go, the ninetieth amigos lessons be stressin the fact without question Determining who gives who, a slap to ???? Bugging while smuggling, lyrics cold bumrushing Touching your brain leaving it, left, while recovering Tagged, by the fact they rap the daily contract and ac-cessory the best of me flipping ?void of fact pack?..." Another chorus is used at the end which is not as good.." Livin in the world today Makin room for our seeds to see a brighter day, who's to say real thug niggaz don't pray That's why we drop jewels, we drop jewels ..." This is a cool song which is completely original in structure and topic... definitely, dope!

The final cut is a short little outro called "Five Arch Angels" has 60 Second Assasin and Killah Priest just talking over a beat... it's cool, weird and kind of funny...

Overall, the Sunz of Man have made a somewhat complete hip-hop album filled with a weird variety but a raw combination.. Though it takes many listens to distinguish the emcees apart... Wu-Tang Clan does not have this problem... It is clear that this is not the main Wu family and they probably will not be as popular as the main Wu family but they still have a decent product... There are hotter albums to get however... songs like "Israeli News" and "Not Promised Tomorrow" become annoying because the emcees are very condescending with their spirituality and which has a heavy preachiness. Songs like "Inmates To The Fire", "Intellectuals", and "Next Up" are hardcore hip-hop classics will probably be overlooked...  There are some other dope songs on here too like "Shining Star", "Natural High" and "Collaboration '98". Where the soulful samples win on the opening cut of "Cold", the lose on the cut "The Plan"... In many cases, there are too many emcees who rhyme too long on a cut which is too long.. They should of shortened their rhyme time and maybe have gone back and forth.  Sunz of Man can rhyme quick... very quick and have a tremendous energy.. The one major downfall is that many of the songs are too long.. though the album has a fresh originality to it which is all Wu... The beats are all decent and full..  Though not all of them are banging, beats on "Can I See You" are very complete along with "Intellectuals" and "Flaming Swords"... The work on "Shining Star" has that classic feel to it too. The only beat which seems too simple is the one on "Israeli News"... This is not a bad song, it's just not one of the better ones...  Lyrically, the Sunz are hard to understand... When they are not lyrically murdering somebody, they are trying to save their soul.... The mixture of spirituality gets a little annoying. Many times, they rhyme so fast that it's hard to understand or listen to what the hell they are saying... Still, the emcees have something to say and the topics are spread throughout the album.. Money is mentioned on "The Grandz" as the children are on "Shining Star" and reality is a main concept on "Tribulations"... The rap game and it's many misconceptions are addressed on "Illusions"..  Rza, Wycleff, 4th Disciple, and Tru Master are all good producers. The many producers give the album a nice variety of flavers.. from the errie atmospher of Rza's "Can I See You?" to the happy funk of "Shining Star" by Wycleff.. The diversity is there and makes the album cooler and much more refreshing than the average rap joint. Due to the variety of production, the originality is there by having songs with choruses only said once  at times... and having the guitar come in at the second half of the beat in "Illusions".. These are all bold steps which give the song a cool feel which is very original and creative.. There's no formula and the album is filled enough to listen to again and again and not become too bored.  The only problem is The Sunz can not get out of the shadow of the Wu-Tang Clan. They sound like the Wu, have lyrics like the Wu (especially sounding like Rza), have beats produced by the Wu, and most of their guests are from the Wu... They embrace the Wu.. which is a good thing but this is considered more like a baby Wu album than a seperate venture. The problem is...  They would not have made such a good album if it was not for the Wu Tang Clan... Due to the diversity of producers, the album flows nicely into each of the songs.. but would flow nicer if the songs were a little shorter.. The Sunz are hardcore emcees. Violent lyrics and realistic images of the ghetto give them a good hardcore appeal but one song they rap about killing and the next, they want to save the children... See, Mobb Deep are killers, they rap about killing and do not rap about saving the souls of children on another song because it would not work.... The Sunz should really focus on their hardcore lyrics and make up their mind.. Still, they do express what they feel... So.. with dope production, decent lyrics and many emcees who all rhyme really quickly, the album is a quality product with no straight commercial sell out joint with the exception of "Shining Star" which is a very good song... The Wu saves the album... there's is no doubt about that... Still, this makes me want to see people like 60 Second Assassin on future Wu joints.. The Sunz of Man... If the last shall be first...and the first should be last... I guess they are somewhere in the middle..

Beats: 8/10
Lyrics:8/10
Production: 8/10
Originality/Creativity: 8/10
Album Flow: 8/10
Hardcore Rating: 8/10
[ Overall Rating: 8/10 ]