producers: cheapshot, m-boogie, amed, diverse, vooodu

Let's cut the babbling introduction, and take the shortcut and get right to it. Of course Mykill Miers does not do the same, as he sticks around, doing an "Intro", that sheds some light on the title of this album "It's Been A Long Time Coming". The first proper song "Doin' My Thang" talks about how things come together, seasoned with a little braggadocios and flowing over a Cheapshot production. DJ Revolution adds a nice little scratched element to this cut, and repeats this feat on the M-Boogie produced and Iriscience featuring "Do The Math". The bouncy piano actually gives away the name behind the board, unless you like to confuse the M with the Evidence. And on here, Mykill is strictly intending to get the mic on fire.

Cheapshot's second contribution, the beat to "Triggernometry" has to be the first highlight on this album. It's kept low, with an interesting drum, as well as some hollow orchestra type sounds. Spreading Myk's wings out to the east, A.G., plus his comrades the GD, step to the mic for "Straight Up". And A.G. is rocking the mic right, opening the unspectacular Amed produced and M-Boogie remixed beat. Diverse then steps up the vibe again for the friendly and party happy "Rock The Mic", which gives Myk' the chance to just rock that, and spit his boasting. The punchlines also hit on "The Illest", while Myk's voice is still taking some away from us desiring to follow him too closely.

Only the Professor X sample gives "Cut Throat" an exciting feel, as the chopped horns that Cheapshot hooked up are rather annoying, and while Born Allah, E-Rule and Mykill are dropping solid spitting, it's not sticking out, as it is hard to stick out, when the words and the beat are 'just' solid. So maybe a certain anxiety, or excited approach to a track could help. And so on "Killing Spree", Diverse gets an angry something out, while Mykill growls into your face with the worst intentions, doing some crappy violent rhymes, trying to live up to his 'movie serial murder' name, spitting useless tales like "I orchestrate mass murder with a .38 / shot after shot slugs dive in your chest plate / I got a news for bitch niggas who hang around me / for proof look at the dead bodies that lay around me / you see, I love to see a nigga with his neck slit / where the knife exits and bloods squirts from his flesh quick". But there's still something missing and even he doesn't seem to be too comfortable with what he's doing.

Not on "Wanna Be An MC?" though. M-Boogie does an extra nice piano sparkling, bouncy beat, that Myk' and Freddie Foxxx use to get the wannabe's to second think if they really wanna step to the mic and kick what they wrote down. Freddie also rides this track confidently, calling out Ja Rule, Shyne, DMX, going "so Shyne, you ain't Biggie / Ja, you ain't Pac / lot of niggas ain't Jay / and DMX ain't Fox". Mykill in the mean time shamelessly exaggerates when he spits "the spot gets blown up when I show up / the rhymes I kick is so sick, it'll make you throw up". While the Vooodu beat on "Who Am I?" catches our attention, with it being quite musical and providing a comfortable platform for any lyrics to reside on, the lyrics again can't live up to this niceness.

What pretty much is all that can be said about this, as the Planet Asia collaboration "Everyday Ritual" is just another M-Boogie collaboration, Diverse laces Myk' up with something cool on "Immaculate", even dropping by to drop some rhymes too, along with Dikshen, "Don't Test" is more bragging and boasting, before Diverse again gets the nod of having produced something dope with "Best Friends Become Strangers". And Myk' opts to drop his braggadocios reruns, and do something a little different. Very much so again on the touching family tale of "Bigga Brother", a soulful Diverse production, with a sung hook, and a lot of heart that has been put into this track. And the female that provides the hook for this, sticks around for doing the same on "It's Been A Long Time Coming", which again, is an under par (meaning good) beat, and Mykill also is able to capture the frustration that was his constant companion, while he was not getting what he was paying the dues for.

Concluding: this is a solid westcoast bounce, braggadocios, battling album. It got enough bump in the beats and hits in the rhymes for it staying interesting through most of the tracks. However, when the repetitiveness comes around, we are just about getting to the real thoughts at the end of this. And so we are not mad, but also not too happy. It has been a long time for Mykill until he was able to release this, but was it worth it? Well, ...