By the time
MC Eiht released
Section 8 in 1999, he was five years removed from the success of his chart-topping
We Come Strapped album and clearly struggling to revive that success. He'd slipped big-time with Last Man Standing (1997), his final album for Epic Street. In the wake of that album's disappointment and his departure from Epic, he hooked up with
Mack 10, who had a boutique label aligned with Priority, Hoo Bangin' Records. Under
Mack 10's guidance,
MC Eiht went back to the basics for
Section 8, and it resulted in his most accomplished album to date. There are a number of standout songs here, including "My Life," a laid-back slow jam that revisits the "la-la-la" vibe of "All for the Money." Other highlights include "Automatic," which boasts a strong
Fredwreck Nassar production, and "Days of 89'," a heartfelt collaboration with longtime producer
DJ Slip. Granted,
Section 8 is spotty, with a few bland tracks sequenced toward the end -- then again, most gangsta rap albums are -- but it's still a vast improvement over Last Man Standing. Moreover, the variety of production styles and the reinvigorated rhymes of
MC Eiht make
Section 8 more interesting than either
We Come Strapped (1994) or
Death Threatz (1996), which are both solid albums yet rather same-sounding from track to track. Above all, though, it's nice to hear
MC Eiht once again enthused about rapping. In fact, this is as lively as he'd sounded since his prime years with
Compton's Most Wanted. ~ Jason Birchmeier