Re-Up Gang, Ice Cube, GZA, and K-Salaam & Beatnik

Even the hottest fire can fizzle if not handled properly. Out to shed its image as a troupe dependent on the otherworldly production of the Neptunes, Clipse Presents: Re-Up Gang (Koch) hustles a myriad of undeveloped coke anthems 'round a "Million Dollar Corner." "Re-Up Gang Intro" wails triumphant on Sleepwalkers' synth-horns and distorted vox, but recycled lyrics from February's We Got It for Cheap, Vol. 3, the stagnant "Emotionless," and Scott Storch's displaced "Fast Life" prove it's best to leave a good thing untouched. OG Ice Cube's eighth offering, Raw Footage (Lench Mob), provides a back-to-basics lesson for aspiring MCs. O'Shea riffs on those anti-low-rider with the Maestro-tracked "Gangsta Rap Made Me Do It" and gets the best out of 21st century tough guy Young Jeezy for the treacherous "I Got My Locs On." Stompers "Here He Come" and "Thank God" tighten Raw's foundation: "You can call me rapper, or you can call me mister. Big money trapper, fuckin' with your sister." Questioning, "Is it the digi being stained on my brain?" ("Pencil"), GZA's Pro Tools (Babygrande) stirs closer to classic Shaolin dirt than anything the Wu's Abbot has dropped recently. The Genius' sixth solo LP charges on Black Milk's "7 Pounds" and spins needle-on-vinyl soul aesthetic alongside Ka at the "Firehouse." Closer "Life Is a Movie" reels in contemporary RZA stylings before bonus track "Elastic Audio" drops live and mostly a cappella from last May's Parish romp. New York reggae spinners K-Salaam & Beatnick drop second LP Whose World Is This? (VP) with help from a slew of collaborators, including Talib Kweli ("Feel"), Dead Prez ("Fallen Soldiers"), and Tupac's Outlawz ("The Truth"). Fitting reggae croons into streetwise BK bang, Papoose & Busy Signal's "We Gotta Take It" typifies the balanced blend, hitting hardest at Bobbito Garcia's concise "Vieques P.S.A."