In 2009,
Z-Ro's loyal fan base expected Heroin, a two-CD set announced the previous year, but instead they got Cocaine, a one-CD version with many songs that already appeared on the mixtape Codeine. Confusing, and rumors of the rapper's difficulties with the Rap-A-Lot label top it all off, but the good news is that Cocaine is no great disappointment. It does feel a bit disjointed and perhaps cobbled together from tracks recorded for the mythological Heroin, but fans of the rapper spend enough time in the mixtape world that any semi-sensibly laid-out
Z-Ro release is a step up, and Cocaine is just that. Highlights include "Quarterback," which is filled with football metaphors; the anthem "Southside" with special guest
Lil' Flip; and "Can't Leave Drank Alone," which serenades the purple stuff as if it were the sweetest woman
Z-Ro has ever known. In another move fans will appreciate,
Z-Ro handles most of the production himself, and even if some of these tracks have already debuted on mixtapes, they sound better here with more separation and much less compression. ~ David Jeffries