>One could argue LWFC was more style over substance lyrically

There are obvious songs like Funky For You and The Questions that fit that bill but I feel like your statement kinda reducing LWFC lyrically. That album contains some of his best songs lyrically in my opinion. Time Travelin’, Dooinit, The 6th Sense, Nag Champa, Geto Heaven, A Song For Assata...

So I agree that he did blend the best of both worlds with style and lyrics on LWFC but I don’t think enough to call EC a return to form lyrically.