No Need for Alarm

After helping create the West Coast underground scene with his 1991 debut, made a radical departure with 1993's , eschewing the familiar of his debut for a jazzier, more sophisticated sound more akin to East Coast acts like and . The thematic and lyrical content of 's work underwent a considerable change as well, with largely avoiding the endearing comic vignettes and blunted utopian vision of his debut for a never-ending string of battle raps. 's loopy sense of humor remained intact, but without the structure and savvy of , feels a bit aimless, even if it does contain some of 's best work to date. showcases 's new direction to the best effect, driven by 's sinister, hypnotic, string-laced production and some of the fiercest and most potent battle raps of 's career. When works, it's terrific -- funny, skillfully produced, and wonderfully propulsive. Unfortunately, it only works about a third of the time. Critics have taken 's debut to task for having a fairly generic -dominated sound more in line with executive producer 's work than 's unique sensibility, but has always functioned better when paired with strong collaborators. Sure, it could be argued that reflect the sensibilities of producers and co-producers as much as they do , but working with strong-willed peers has a tendency to temper the artist's tendency toward self-indulgence and bring out the best in him. Without a strong sense of direction, is frustratingly uneven, rich and transcendent one moment and aimless and repetitive the next. Still, it's a challenging, unique, and uncompromising follow-up, one well worth picking up for anyone interested in either the evolution of West Coast or just the evolution of one of its most talented, eccentric, and gifted artists. ~ Nathan Rabin