12 years too late
06/29/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"If the Hit Squad had dropped an album when they should have, all indications show it would have been one of the all time greats. We all know how that went. It seems as if this is a "Parish Smith and Friends" album, listed as the Hit Squad to intice those fans who never got the crew album they always wanted. The only track featuring Redman and Erick Sermon features obviously dated verses. You can blatantly tell by how raw he sounds, Redman's verse could not have been recorded after 1992. As with the rest of the album and the "new hit squad" members...they aren't bad, but they are not what you are expecting when you buy and album with the name "Hit Squad" on it. None of the MC's stand out as horrible, but that's the problem with most of them...they don't stand out at all. Workman like verses that are forgotten when they end, but serve thier purpose. Fat Joe sounds uninspired, and Prodigy drops his usual generic verse of the same lazy trash he's been wasting mic time with ever since HNIC. PMD brings his game for the most part, as the coach/star player of the time, and makes this a decent effort. You won't hate this album, but you won't love it either. You will enjoy it when it's on, but won't reach for it often."