Hard to figure out why DJ
Tony Touch calls these compilations
Piece Maker when they feel like an all-out MC war, up to and including the idea that this
Volume 3 is the bomb. Kicking off with a hand-raising anthem with
Touch as gritty hypeman,
Return of the 50 MCs storms through a whirlwind of hard-kicking hip-hop with old-school mixtape production standards, all of it mixed for maximum force and compression. Early highlights come from a proud and snide
Angie Martinez (offering "foul coming out of my mouth like I'm a shock jock" during the "Ladies First Freestyle"),
Busta Rhymes (leading a big crew on the infectious, boom-bap track "Hold That"), and
Papoose ("Brooklyn's the Borough" features "I don't care about the name or your clothing designer/I'm fascinated by the attributes of Malcolm and Elijah"), while a kinetic
Eminem (joking "Got an Oscar but I'm still a grouch" during "Symphony In H"), an
Action Bronson and
Kool G. Rap team-up ("A Queen's Thing" is so lush), and the spitacular trio of
Erick Sermon,
Method Man, and
Redman ("Let's Go") help keep this one popping to the very end. Expect the usual swift mixing from
Touch, just don't expect
Joe Budden during the great "Slaughter Session," but the rest of the
Slaughterhouse crew is here, and over a choice
Just Blaze beat. ~ David Jeffries