Mack 10 Has the ‘Recipe’ for Success

*** MACK 10

“The Recipe”

Hoo-Bangin’/Priority

Mack 10 is one of the few recent Los Angeles-area rappers to sell a significant number of albums and to have a national impact. His debut, 1995’s “Mack 10,” was certified gold and established the Ice Cube protege as a noteworthy modern-day gangster rapper. Along with Cube and WC, Mack 10 is a member of the Westside Connection, a group whose 1996 album, “Bow Down,” went double platinum. Mack 10’s strong sales continued last year with his second solo album, “Based on a True Story.”

“The Recipe” is Mack 10’s attempt to cater to hip-hop fans in every region of the country; it features superstar guests from Los Angeles (Ice Cube), Atlanta (Jermaine Dupri), New Orleans (Master P) and New York (Big Punisher). Throughout the 18-cut collection, the Inglewood native demonstrates that he can rhyme convincingly over any beat thrown his way, whether bouncy, eerie, radio-friendly, hard-core or gentle.

Although Mack 10’s subject matter rarely travels beyond money, women and gangsterism, he and his talented guests breathe life into topics that have seemingly been beaten to death by scores of others. Mack 10 and friends succeed by making the old sound new again.

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent). The albums are already released unless otherwise noted.