On his fifth album,
B-Legit seems to be moving slightly out of the underground and edging towards the mainstream. The feints towards mass acceptance are pretty minor -- he's not trying to be
Nelly or anything -- and basically consist of making only every third or fourth song about the power and glory of weed instead of every other verse. Of course, the weed songs are still what he does best; "Luv 2 Get High" and "Bag Habit" feature the loosest, slyest rhymes on
Hard 2 B-Legit. Elsewhere, as on "I'm Singlin'" and "Whatcha Talkin',"
B-Legit sounds like he's making a conscious attempt to clean up his sound, but as a result, these tracks lack the personality and sparkle of earlier albums like
Hempin' Ain't Easy. The knockout punch is "Straight Fool," a duet with
E-40 set to a wiggy sample that sounds like it could come off a
Missy Elliot or
Timbaland record and featuring the toughest delivery and sharpest rhymes on the entire album. ~ Stewart Mason