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Sticking to his guns with angry, soul-searching lyrics spewing out while the high-powered crossover collaborations fly about, skillfully rides his career trajectory as it soars ever upwards with , an album that's powerful more than purposeful, plus a therapy session where all the party people can sing along. After literally drilling into the underground rapper's head during the intro, the album rolls out with a series of hard-hitting solo cuts, most produced by house beatmaker and some featuring a Gospel choir, because that's the stately and dramatic way rolls. Frequent collaborators and regulars like (featured on the -like "Shroud") and (guest growler on the bass-dropping highlight "Psycho Bitch III") appear before the album goes wandering into some weighty metal balladry with 's on "Wither," then it moves into worthy radio material with and on the aptly titled electro-popper "Hood Go Crazy." Cramming , , and into one posse cut makes "Bass Ackwards" an easy pick, and it's another skillful moment from when the minimal robot beat of "No K" bleeps and suits both . is back for the odd -inspired jam and feature called "Speedom (Worldwide Choppers 2)," then the album turns back toward patented heaviness with "A Certain Comfort" and "Burn It Down" being rock-rap of the highest order, while the woozy "Life Sentences" stretches out in that retro style. Among it all is the story-telling triumph of "Lacrimosa," a constantly weaving and swaying cut where the loss of the rapper's mother threatens to rip apart his psyche, along with his career. That's plenty of worthwhile music, but ramps up to its most attractive moments and gives newcomers plenty to wade through. That said, the album doesn't even buckle with this all-star and ultra-ambitious weight, as the gifted remains a great balancer of the very big and the very bold. ~ David Jeffries