As the kingpin of Memphis,
Gangsta Pat tends to get overlooked in the gangsta rap wars, and for good reason -- there's no competition in Memphis. Sure, there are a few other rappers, but for the most part,
Gangsta Pat works in a vacuum, and that's the reason why
Homicidal Lifestyle is so predictable, featuring the same beats and rhymes as his previous albums, which are not all that dissimilar from
N.W.A. and
Dr. Dre records. Granted,
Homicidal Lifestyle has a couple of good grooves and rhymes scattered throughout the album, but it's hard to take any record whose highlight is a by-the-books party number called "I Wanna Smoke" all that seriously. ~ Leo Stanley