after listening to it again I feel exactly the same. gift of gab's flow is the obvious star of the show. nowhere fast is the gem of the album, chemical calisthenics still gets points for creativity, passion and release parts 1 and 2 are still cool.

but besides that I cant f with this album. if I wanted to hear sweetback's attempt at hip-hop thats what I would buy.

this album lacks everything that hip-hop is supposed to be comprised of: edge, grit, maybe a curse or 2, rebellion just to name a few elements.

i could play this album while helping set up a family barbecue and get 0 objection from 30-50 year old relatives.

its way too friendly. if i needed the dough bad enough i would head back to best buy with my receipt or at least get some store credit