On this sophomore release from the Minnesota emcee, Musab seems, more than anything, conflicted. He’s got kids now, but it doesn’t appear he can ditch his past – which includes hustlin’, stealin’, and most prominently, pimpin’.

Slicks Box is far from a grab bag. The entire album is produced by fellow Minneapolis native King Karnov, whose production focuses heavily on samples. On Slicks, he samples everyone from Bobby Womack to Led Zeppelin. The beats, for the most part,  are laid-back, and the lack of hard-hitting tracks becomes somewhat monotonous for the listener after a while, even though the album’s only twelve songs long.

In addition to going with only one producer, Musab chose to include no guest artists. It’s just him, and he keeps the focus on himself. His rhymes are often introspective, as he poses questions to no one in particular. They’re also very conflicting, even within an individual song. On “I Won’t Die” he spits, “Feed my fam every time/ Whether from rhymes or doing motherfucking crimes,” but later raps, “I gave up stealin’ ’cause it brings bad karma/ I gave up dealin’ ’cause it kills black mamas.”

He can also be self-deprecating and cocky at the same time: “Pretty boys think they breeze can’t get took/ The fact is, man I’m not that attractive/ But charismatic when I put down my mackin’.”

While Musab’s rhymes are usually interesting enough, he lacks quality hooks. This is true even on the album’s first single, and best cut, “Baaang.” The weak chorus is overshadowed by the light, persistent piano sample from Toto’s “Hold the Line.” The sample provides a brilliant backdrop for Musab’s delivery, in which he never misses a beat but still enunciates every syllable. The up-tempo track is a welcomed change-up.

But Slicks most obvious flaw is that it leaves too many questions unanswered. Is Musab going to stop hustlin’ and pimpin’, things he’s been doing since a young age, and settle down as a father? You could find about 25 minutes worth of material from the 50-minute-long disc that’d leave you to believe the answer’s “yes,” and another 25 that’d make you think the opposite.

It’s not until the final song, “Kool Aid,” which samples Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” that Musab is not conflicted. He’s very clear about his feelings towards the current state of hip hop (he’s not happy with it). If only the rest of the album was as unambiguous.

by Andrew Kahn

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