O.C.'s auspicious debut announced the arrival of one of modern rap's more gifted storytelling lyricists. The artist dropped his thesis on "Time's Up", a '90s rap benchmark track that served to separate rap's true school from its ever-expanding species of frauds. On that track, O.C. takes umbrage with money-grubbing fake MC's over a combined droning bass guitar and well-plucked sample from Slick Rick's "Hey Young World." The album is drenched in classic, hard-core East Coast B-boyism, but O.C. puts the boasts on the shelf to take up more existential subject matter. On "Born 2 Live" he spins wistful fables from his childhood in order to discuss life's bittersweet fragility: "born to live/a life to die/life's so damn short and I wonder why." O.C.'s connections to Organized Konfusion and D.I.T.C. shine through on his debut, showcasing a thought-provoking intellectual diversity rarely seen on rap albums. Organized's Pharaoh Monche sits in on the album, as do producers Buckwild, Lord Finesse and Ogee. You would be hard-pressed to find a hardcore hip hop fan without this recording somewhere in their collection.