Lil' Flip

The reason Lil' Flip's 2007 effort is so damn big is that it's really two albums smashed together; the 2005 album also titled I Need Mine that Sony denied release and an album's worth of tracks he recorded afterward, many of which hardcore fans had already encountered on mixtapes. While Fliparaci already has a double album in his scant official catalog, 2004's U Gotta Feel Me, this is a much better deal since it covers three years' worth of work and works hard at keeping things moving by varying the guest list and the style. As many loud thug party numbers as there are, odd little excursions like "Find My Way" -- a countrified collaboration with Robin Andre, who could have just as well been Kid Rock -- creep in. "Single Mother" is a lot more sentimental than expected and entirely believable, while "Tell Me" adds the reggae stylings of dancehall up-and-comer Collie Buddz. Still the rapper with "so many drugs/I can open a CVS" and who keeps his pistol handy while dropping the kids off at the pool, according to "Fly Boy," shoots off so many mixtape-flavored bangers that listening to the album in one sitting becomes a near impossible task. The problem Lil' Flip was faced with was whether he should whittle this album down to a stunning one-disc classic and sacrifice some truly B+ music or release it all and slap a "Free Z-Ro" sticker on it. Sorting it all into digestible bites becomes a pleasure over time, even if the initial reaction is one of being overwhelmed and for all the wrong reasons. [I Need Mine was also made available in a clean version, with all explicit material removed.] ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide