Widely credited with repping the south before the south was cool, Eightball and MJG have been in the game for a very, very long time. The duo was the first rap act anywhere near Memphis to go platinum, but were huge in the dirty dirty long before that.

Both have gone solo before. MJG is traditionally the more political of the two; Eightball generally sticks to the script. This is certainly true of Bomb except that this "solo album" is probably best described on a compilation disc. Newcomers Devius, Mac-E, Gu1ta Mac and Loco (the lone female in the bunch) essentially spend the album going back and forth about weed, drank, hoes and the like. Oh, and if you thought that the "Gang" in M Gang was just for show, "Clear It Out" features a hook that exhorts all Vicelords, Gangster Disciples, Bloods, and Crips to hit the floor and well, clear it out. "Time2hitdaclub," "Swervin," and "Purple Stuff" all hit, and if you're on your way out the door on a Friday night the stellar production will certainly come in handy.

Meanwhile, Eightball plays the godfather role, putting in his two cents when the kids start to act up. The exception is the title track (produced by Montana Trax), where Eightball rhymes solo: "Picture this, pretty women shaking dealing what the huur/ make a stack and go and get a babysitter for the churren/ split it up and then burn baby burn/ pimpin don't touch mine if I don't touch yourn..."

Then, he displays a little bit of maturity:

"I'm a beast with the pen/ known for bringing the pain/ I'm like Lil Wayne/ pimpin I was young in the game/ now I'm grown mane/ big trucks, busses and planes/ ATL strippers hate me cause I don't make it rain/ only thang I'ma do is put a blunt to a flame/ so lay it out when you see me bitch you know why I came"

So, the good news is that when he does drop-in, he brings the same controlled energy characteristic of Eightball & MJG albums of the past. Speaking of MJG, he does show up on two tracks ("This Ain't That" and "Yo Bitch"). While both are highlights on this collection, neither stacks up to classic Eightball & MJG tracks from any of their 58 real albums.

The question then, is when do you become too old to rap about going to the club, drinking (dranking) purple stuff, smoking weed and fucking hoes? For Eightball, the answer is "never". Then again, his gift of portraying life on the ugly side of American society has to be acknowledged. That gift is never more evident than on "The Greatest" featuring Juvenile. Eightball gets down-right artistic: "I'ma poet I was blessed to keep the lights on/ faithful to my craft, more than just fight songs/ I write alone/ dreaming of the right song/ write about life and hoes that I done piped on/ write about dreams that crumble like cornbread/ write about my nigga laying in the ground dead/ we party hard smoke and drink away the bad thoughts/ we hustle hard and try harder not to get caught/ a black man trying to eat like a white man/ live right and live a white man lifespan/ we come from nothing less than zero to a hundred grand/ my childhood hero had a pistol in his hand."

In any case, what Bomb does show is Eightball's clear business mind; it's certainly not by accident that M Gang gets major shine. Light Up the Bomb is Eightball's second album as CEO of his own label (8 Ways Entertainment); this time around he effectively combines his unquestioned street credibility, universal respect in the industry, and pimp charisma with homegrown talent and production. The end product is a relatively banging get-gone tribute to the Memphis side of things.

Like fellow legends Bun B and Pimp C, Eightball & MJG are clearly better off together. In fact, this album is not unlike Pimp C's solo-release Pimpalation in that they both offer an alternative view of one-half of a bona-fide combo. Like a burger without the fries, Ball is good by himself; but much better with something on the side.