There are very few emcees around who are impossible not to like, Sean Price is one of those emcees. The longtime Boot Camp Clik member and one half of Heltah Skeltah made his solo debut in 2005 with Monkey Barz. Anyone who heard the album who wasn’t already a fan, quickly became one. With lines like “I got a dime bitch that lives in Japan/black belt, sucks dick, chops bricks with her hand” and top notch production from 9^th Wonder, Khrysis and Ayatollah, Sean P delivered one of the year’s most memorable albums.

The artist formerly known as Ruck returns on 2007 as our savior, Jesus Price Supastar. With the Justus League’s 9^th Wonder and Khrysis handling the bulk of the albums production again it takes on a familiar feel of P slapping around bitch ass rappers over soulful backdrops. It works best on joints like the 9^th Wonder produced, Skyzoo assisted You Already Know, or Tommy Tee’s throbbing Church featuring the Loudmouf Choir. Khrysis also lends a couple gems, King Kong is some epic shit that P just stomps all over, and One is a dope little number reminiscent of Ghost’s track from Supreme Clientele of the same name. The albums two crown jewels are easily Like You and Cardiac. The former a 10 For The Triad produced gem that features some vintage lines from Mr. Price; “sometimes I feel like I’m the best in my field/but I’m not and I’m broke so I go invest in some krills.”

Unfortunately not everything clicks so well for the Boot Camp veteran. Being that he has so much fire and charisma when he spits, production that is dull does nothing to compliment his style, and there are a few instances here that fit that bill. Surprisingly, a couple of those beats come from the usually mighty 9^th Wonder. On the cleverly titled P-Body 9^th’s formulaic, bland beat hurts what should be a classic Heltah Skeltah cut. The same can be said for Stop and the very disappointed collabo with Little Brother wunderkind Phonte Let It Be Known. It isn’t a bad song by any means, but I was hoping for more from a lineup of those names. Fortunately 9^th makes up for his missteps with Violent, much more of what we expect from 9^th. Sean does his part too, kicking his typically hilarious bars; “got a verse nigga? Where’s the beef?/burger rappers screaming where’s the beef?/you soft, get lost, before you scream where’s your teeth?”

Much like Monkey Barz, the good far outweighs the bad and Sean P delivers another great album that is somehow as gutter as it is soulful. January is always a dreadfully slow month for releases and this does more than fill the void, thank the lord and savior Jesus Price.