Illuminati 2G

After his intended second album with Def Jam, THE GROWTH, was shelved, Joe Budden went the independent route, releasing a trilogy of mixtapes and an exclusively downloadable LP. His highly anticipated second retail album, PADDED ROOM, sees the ...    Full DescriptionJersey City representative throwing verbal shots at Prodigy on the furious dis track "Blood On the Wall," and teaming with the Game on the club-friendly "The Future." Tight underground production comes courtesy of Blastah Beatz, Moss, Qwan, and the Klasix.

9 OUT OF 10

On the heels of his successful GUNSLINGER mixtape trilogy, B Real releases the first solo studio LP of his nearly two-decade career, SMOKE N MIRRORS, on Duck Down Records. The Cypress Hill frontman works his trademark nasal flow over 15 Cali-centric beats courtesy of Scoop Deville, Soopafly, Sick Jacken, Salaam Wreck, the Alchemist, and B Real himself. SMOKE N MIRRORS sees B sharing the mic with a select group of guest artists from the West and beyond, including Xzibit, Kurupt, Too $hort, Snoop Dogg, Buckshot, and Damian Marley

7.5 OUT OF 10

A more laid back, if equally blissed-out, West Coast complement to Method & Red's similarly named meeting of true hip-hop minds of nine years earlier, BLACKOUT, BLAQKOUT pairs Dogg Pound-er Kurupt with one of L.A. gangsta rap's first stars, ...    DJ Quik. Mellow, but sexually charged, is the tone throughout, from the smooth-jazz intro to the title track to the Soul II Soul sampling "Do You Know." The comfort level between the two cagey veterans is in the stratosphere, and the hazy, traded rhymes are of the caliber fans would expect.

7.5 OUT OF 10

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