In a year where the producer grew to a level of prominence increasingly closer to that of the MC, with
Dr. Dre,
Mannie Fresh, and
Swizz Beatz getting substantial acclaim and other producers such as
Muggs and
Dame Grease crafting their own full-length albums, it's not surprising to see a DJ as prominent as
DJ Hurricane getting the chance to release a full-length album. Like
Muggs and
Grease,
DJ Hurricane recruits a large roster of MCs to bring some personality to his beats, and, again like
Muggs and
Grease, his album ultimately falls short with its number of lackluster MC performances despite the excellent beats. It's been said before: Not even the best production can overcome dull rapping. There are a few shining moments here, such as "Freeze the Frame" featuring a charged
Public Enemy, "Make Things Better" featuring
Talib Kweli, "Connect" featuring the near-but-not-quite gangsta charisma of
Xzibit, and "Blow It Up" featuring the West Coast stance of
Hittman. With 18 tracks, there are quite a few solid beats spoiled by mediocre rapping, and the inclusion of "We Will Rock You," a cover of the
Queen classic featuring
Scott Weiland, is a looming mistake. In the end, if you can look beyond the oft-poor rapping, there are some great East Coast neo-old school beats here; note though that
De Roc and
Swift C assist
Hurricane with production on every track.