BP3 was a high water mark for his flow IMO

Vol 1 holds a very special place for me though. “Lucky Me” and “You Must Love Me” are like warm blankets. Play “Where I’m From” in your headphones while wearing a hoodie and you’ll feel damn near invincible.

Lyrically he’s much stronger than he is on BP3.

Plus nothing on Vol 1 has anything as awful as the four tracks I mentioned and that certainly hurts BP3 in a head to head.

So I can see putting this ahead of BP3.

The thing about BP3 for me is that he puts on a delivery clinic over what for him is a generally eclectic selection of beats. He didn’t repeat too many old formulas here while also staying relatively close to his classic lane while still feeling fresh and the overall effect felt like a serious reboot.

Certain cuts, like Reminder, I wound up enjoying in spite of themselves. The singer is awful and the beat is one of those joints that feels a little cheap and phoned in, yet the sum of those parts somehow worked. I like it almost as an epilogue to What More Can I Say thematically, though it can be argued that it’s just another showcase for his inferiority complex and the reliance on numbers in that song is a little annoying. For me that’s a great emotional foundation for art, particularly in hip hop.

All in all I just feel like BP3 is ultimately a meatier, if glossier, album than Vol 1.

Anyhow I’m sure you didn’t want a dissection of this album. I can’t really argue with the choice for Vol 1 over BP3, just explaining some of what makes BP3 pop for me on a higher level.