Between Cloud 9 and now, he seems to have lost his way, lost what he was about, his energy, his substance. The beats sound generic, plastic, and with no remnants of hip-hop beats and more reminiscent of today's shit-hop with 80's hi-hats and bass thuds that sound like they came from a synthesizer. How can you preach hip-hop without the DJ or the producer that knows how to make the same type of cuts and samples that made your previous albums what they were? The song "Hip-Hop" itself is a mockery to Hip-Hop culture, but at the same time a message to black culture, which are not the same thing (and he knows that). What was once a self-expressive rap-artist at some point turned into what I really hoped wouldn't happen: out for money and mass appeal. I can almost hear the producer who cut this telling Nine that he "Needs to put a new-age spin to his rhymes, 'cause this ain't the 90's no more..." Well, if Nine was ever really what he used to sing about, he'd stick to what made him great to begin with and what makes people go back to his first two albums over and over again. Otherwise, "Keep it Real" was just a saying with nothing behind it just like this piss poor album.

I was disappointed after the first listening, but after the 2nd and 3rd time its gets better and better. The album had definite more ups than downs. Against the generic opinion i like this more than 1999. This one is closed to a "Must Have" (4 Starz) but tracks like Bionic, Gimme My Money, Yes or Push avoid that rate.