Tha Carter II Review

This is the album people mean when they say he was the best rapper alive and meant it literally. The voice is still clear rather than shredded, the flows are elastic without being showy, and every verse is written to be a verse rather than a stream of punchlines assembled after the fact. Tha Mobb is one of the best opening tracks of the decade, four minutes of pure momentum over a beat that barely changes.

Hustler Musik is the mood piece and it is superb. Fireman was the single and it is the least interesting thing here. Money on My Mind and Receipt show the range. The production is the weak link, competent in house work that rarely rises to what he is doing over it, and the length is the usual problem. What holds it up entirely is performance. He wanted it more on this record than on any other, and it shows in every bar.