One of 's defining albums, is a sprawling masterpiece that stands far and away as 's finest hour. Taken track by track, . might not seem at first like the product of a unified vision; perspective-wise, it's all over the map. There's perceptive social analysis, chilling violence, psychological storytelling, hair-trigger rage, pleas for solutions to ghetto misery, cautionary morality tales, and cheerfully crude humor in the depictions of sex and defenses of street language. But with a few listens, it's possible to assimilate everything into a complex, detailed portrait of 's South Central L.A. roots -- the album's contradictions reflect the complexities of real life. That's why the more intelligent, nuanced material isn't negated by the violence and sexism -- both of which, incidentally, are held relatively in check, with the former having been reshaped into a terrifying but inescapable fact of life. That isn't to say that is designed to appeal to delicate intellectual sensibilities; it's still full of raw, street-level aggression that makes no apologies or concessions. That goes for the music as well as the lyrics. The beats are a little too hard-driving and jittery to really breathe like , which only adds to the dark, claustrophobic feel of the production. smoothly keeps up with the music's furious pace and also debuts his soon-to-be-notorious band on one track. That kind of artistic ambition is all over the album, whether in the lean musical attack or the urgent rhymes. is a certifiable classic, and arguably the most realistic, unvarnished representation of a world was the first to chronicle on record. ~ Steve Huey