Even after a trip to Jamaica changed his life forever and gave him the permanent name change to , veteran rapper leaves the rasta lifestyle behind and becomes for , a nostalgic project with modern funkateer . Unlike 's reggae effort , which seemed to trip over its own overambition, , the album or maybe EP, is pleasingly loose and small. The short running time means the concept is not not overextended and the welcome is not overstayed, plus the joy that (words) and (music) are feeling delivering these nasty grooves comes right through the speakers. The producer's funky re-creations of the past are so uncannily close to '70s and '80s grooves that one expects 's "Pop Life" to pop out of "Let It Go" or and to join in on the smooth vocodered cruise called "Ride," but there are little crooked touches here and there that suggest the indie and broken beat revolutions have already happened, as the twisted wind chimes and pitch-shifting on "I'll Be There 4U" are identifiably post- , post- , and post- . Still, when golden-age hero swaggers his way through "1Question?" and "Systamatic" brings reminders of electro-funksters and with in tow, this is a synth-funk fetishist's dream come true, with plenty of mothership connections for all the fans and G-funk heads to explore. Even if this is 's first album with a single producer since the monolithic, -helmed , don't call it a comeback, call it lark, and a funky, welcome one at that. ~ David Jeffries