producers: dj premier, da beatminerz, dj roach, mike rone, true master, dj muggs

guests: cocoa brovas, jahdan, gza, rasheedah, mop, ky-mani, masta killa, krumbsnatcha, hannibal stax

I was talking to my man the other day about audio on the internet. Not the whole mp3 debate, but we were debating about how many songs of an album should be up for listening (real audio or other streaming media). I said that it was a good thing if some place decided to put up more tracks of an album, as it would give the consumer a better idea of how well they truly may or may not like the album (I hate buying albums that I end up not feeling at all). But he argued that they should put up less audio, because it was a better business move (put up 2 or 3 of the hottest tracks). He said that by doing this, it would be better, because if people had the chance to hear a most of an album beforehand, they will truly recognize how weak it is, hurting record sales. I had a hard time agreeing with him to say the least. The music industry must be in a sad state for him to make an argument in that regard. I look at it that, since more people will hear it before buying it, it will force labels to up the level of the quality of music they put out….right? Your probably wondering where this is going. Don't fret.

This leads me into my sampling of an album before purchasing. It's weird, sometimes I'll hear some real audio of a song and not feel it, but when I get a chance to hear it in person, my opinion changes completely. This works the other way around too, sometimes I'll listen to some real audio of an album, think it's hot, purchase it, and realize that I just got ganked. This is one of those albums.

I'm sure everybody has heard Afu's promising guest appearances on Jeru's 1st two albums. And Afu even sparked my interest when he released "Whirlwind Through Cities," the beat was fresh, his mic presence was charismatic, and his lyrics were halfway decent. But all of those categories suffer on the rest of the cd, as "Whirlwind.." is hands down the best cut on the album. Dj Premier handles the about half of the production here, and even though he still shows flashes of dopeness in his samples, the drums leave a lot to be desired. This does nothing to silence fans who have criticized many of his latest works. For the most part, the songs on this album range from good: "Whirlwind Through Cities," "Big Acts, Little Acts," and "Soul Assassination," to downright horrible: "Caliente," and "Bring It Right."

Afu isn't wack, but he's not Mr. Lyrics either. Couple that with the average to sub-par production that abounds on the album, you have a formula for an album you can pass on by. No disrespect to Afu, but it's obvious his stints on Jeru's album have opened the door for him. But opportunities like this are not without a sense of irony, as those guest appearances are probably what Afu should stick to.