Most emcees don’t have what it takes to make it to a third album, but then again most emcees aren’t AZ. Since his first appearance on Nas’s Life’s A Bitch, AZ has been the author of some of the finest rhymes ever written. Well, nothing has changed; AZ is still an incredibly talented lyricist. The improvement that he needs to make is with respect to his choice of topics (which are sometimes repetitive) his choice of production (which is occasionally less than invigorating), and the need to make an album that flows creatively from one track to the next.

9 Lives does have more surprises than letdowns. One example is Love Me on which AZ imparts some of his considerable wisdom atop a hopping beat, and nicely timed piano chords. The Intro features AZ rhyming at his best to hard hitting snares and a majestic melody. What Cha Day About has some excellent layering of strings and great knowledge raps by AZ. Although it’s produced by Quran Goodman I Don’t Give A F**k is a real head-nodder with nice chorus scratching, and beat programming and sequencing that sounds just like a Primo concoction. Let’s Toast is powered by a tight sample that was used proficiently late last year by MOP, and similarly this track benefits from its use as well. The current single Problems has the kind of tempo and character that fills both summer dance floors and airwaves.

Truth be told this would have been a nearly flawless album if it weren’t for the inclusion of the gimmicky AZ’s Back, and the marketing mishaps of Everything’s Everything with Joe, That’s Real featuring Beanie Siegal, and the Foxy Brown assisted What Ya’ll N****s Want.