Of course being a 90’s kid, he has been some associated with some of the biggest hits of my generation. So I would be lying if I told you that I didn’t rock out to some of his music at parties with my friends. But to keep it real, out of the almost 50 albums and mixtapes that his Wikipedia page has said he dropped; I haven’t listened to one of them in its entirety. That’s what makes my endorsement of Intelligent Hoodlum surprising. What is more surprising is the elevation in Master P’s lyrics. I’m not sure if he has a ghost writer or if he has truly has “got better with time.” But the man who adlib was ugghhh after every bar sounds good on this album. I’m not saying he is Jay-Z or Nas, but it is definitely a step up from what I been accustomed of hearing. The production is also good on this project, there is some hard hitting southern bass on here, tracks like Grew Up Round sounds like throwback Beats by the Pound but more current. Tracks like “Ain’t Right” and “Ain’t Going Back” are smooth with old R&B samples which are dope. P has his son Romeo on almost half of the tracks, he also has features from Jeremih and a guy name Krazy who sounds like the reincarnation of 2Pac.
Listening to this makes me want to redo my grade on Jay-Z’s 4:44 album. I gave Jay’s album a C+, but it probably deserves a better grade. Because I think Master P’s EP is a C project, but it is not better than Jay’s album. So I have to give it a C- to be fair and consistent. But truth be told, P desrves a C and Jay deserves a B. Overall, if you dismiss any preconceived notions about Master P’s previous music and just listen to this EP, I think you will enjoy it. Below is a stream of the album, check it out.