Jim Jones is a legendary rapper from the Bronx who came up as a member of The Diplomats at the beginning of the decade. He released a few decent albums throughout the 2000s, but he went off the radar after 2011’s Capo. It wasn’t until last year’s Wasted Talent that he would make his comeback & now a year later, he’s delivering his 7th full-length album with The Heatmakerz producing it in it’s entirety.

The album kicks off with “Cristal Ocassions”, where he talks about his rise from nothing to fame over a soulful boom bap beat. The next track “Love of the Hustle” recalls his drug dealing deals over a minimalist beat while the song “Make No Issues of It” brushes off ignorance over some harmonious background vocals. The track “NYC” with Fat Joe pays tribute to their hometown over a joyous beat while the song “Good Die Young” is a tribute to all of the homies he lost over a beautiful soul sample. The track “State of the Union” with Rick Ross sees the 2 getting conscious over a mellow beat while the song “Pity in the Summer” with Cam’ron & Fred the Godson is a decent club banger.

The track “My Era” with Maino reflects on their pasts over some prominent drums with a soul sample in the background while the song “Nothing Lasts” with Fabolous vents on some life issues over an infectious beat. The track “Cocaine Dreamin’” with Dave East talks about how their lives a like a movie over a boom bap beat with a sped-up vocal sample. The track “Mama I Made It” with Cam is of course a triumphant success anthem with a nice church choir while the song “To Whom It May Concern” is a fantastic Dipset/Griselda posse cut. The track “Sports Cars” is all about just that with a decent beat & a perfect Curren$y verse & while “Song Boxing” is short, it’s very cutthroat. The penultimate track “Bread Right” boasts about his money over a dreamy beat & then the album finishes with “Don’t Know What They Took Him For”, where Jim gets with Jadakiss & Philthy Rich to talk about death over a soulful beat.

Overall, this is easily Jim’s best work yet. There are way too many features, but a good chunk of them do their thing. And on top of that, Jim steps his pen-game up & The Heatmakerz show why they’re one of the most underrated producers ever.

Score: 7/10

Source: UndergroundHipHopBlog.com