I thought Black on Both Sides was pretty good, but man, he always seems to be best on a track with other people. I feel the same way about Talib Kweli.
Actually, I've always felt MD never made that classic album where he let's loose all of his lyrical skill and fury. It's always one good song here and there. Don't get me wrong...I think MD is indeed one of the best emcees that has been introduced. But it's like he never achieves the potential I wish he would, emcee-wise in a song. He's at his best when he gets aggressive on the mic.
At this point, I see him kinda going the way of Common Sense. Superb emcee, but is now currently caught up being a "neo soul artist" or something like that. Darn darn darn.
I want MD to come out full strength on a straight hip hop album like Del's "No Need For Alarm". I will be a proud MD fan when that happens. Until then, I'll keep talking about his old songs.
And yeah, it seems like the dude can act too...