B.G. has already released an album since his departure from Cash Money Records, but nonetheless, his newest release is entitled Life After Cash Money. To go along with the title, B.G. utilizes his slow languid flow to share his insights about his former Cash Money crew and his fallen comrade Soulja Slim. It’s no surprise that B.G. spends more than a few bars on Cash Money, bragging that he’ll "Get it without a nigga." On "Geezy Where U Been," featuring Ziggler the Wiggler, B.G. proclaims, "Everybody Baby left hanging, I’m comin’ back to get ya... Not one Maybach, ten ‘Lac’s comin’ through." Hopefully B-Gizzle already has the ten Cadillacs, because I don’t think this CD will be able to fund them. B.G. also touches on Cash Money founders Slim and Birdman on "My Life" with lines like, "How you play me, I can’t respect that." The first single, however, the DJ Smurf-produced "I Want It," isn’t as powerful as it should be. The beat has potential for tremendous energy, but its deep horns just aren’t matched by B.G.’s flow. He predicts, "When it’s over, I bet I see a profit," but I think he might be wrong. The album is flawed by simple production, the same rhyme patterns he used on Checkmate, and his nearly lethargic flow. One track that’s worth a listen is "Get Wild With It," where the Ying Yang Twins seem to infuse a little more animation into B.G.’s delivery. "Street Nigga," featuring T.I., is another standout track. "I Wanna Fuck," produced by G-Sta, has an interesting beat but is otherwise lacking. One other track you should check for is "Don’t Wanna Be Without U," featuring Gar and Real. This album will probably be appreciated by Cash Money fans, since they can catch plenty of Cash Money references throughout the album. Diehard B.G. fans will also want to pick up this album to get a good look inside the mind of B-Gizzle himself. Aside from that, if you’re just a general hip-hop fan, I wouldn’t advise spending too much time sampling this at your local record store. – Rohit Loomba, poombster@yahoo.com

Houston has a slew of independent artists with massive fan bases, and from the outside looking in it might appear that they’re all one big happy family. On Chamillionaire’s newest release, however, he comes out swinging at one particular target: Mike Jones. We’ve all seen double-disc CDs, but this is a little unusual: three CDs in one. The first CD is almost entirely dedicated to dissing "Dyke Jones." The second CD, of course, is screwed & chopped by O.G. Ron C. The third CD is a mixture of freestyles, original songs, and slinging a little more mud at Mike Jones. After hearing more than a dozen tracks about Mike Jones, I’m still not sure why exactly Chamillionaire is mad at him. He makes a few generic references and mentions that Mike included him on the intro to his DVD, "as if I was co-signing that shit." Sounds petty. When it comes to real beef, one or two diss tracks is usually sufficient. But damn, nineteen? Overall, his plan backfires, because it comes across like a weak publicity stunt and in the end he’s only promoting Mike Jones. Chamillionaire mostly accuses Mike of being fake and lying in his rhymes. What rapper doesn’t? If a listener is gullible enough to believe that Mike is moving as much weight as he claims, they might also believe that Chamillionaire is getting as much pussy as he claims. The repeated swipes at "Dyke Jones" eventually come off sounding childish. In the war against Mike Jones, Chamillionaire only scores twice: first with the amusing "Talk Show Interlude" and second with the final track, "The Truth," where Chamillionaire speaks and gives the listener a better perspective of where he’s coming from. Moving onto the third disc, which is mostly Chamillionaire and Rasaq, it’s a relief to only hear a few Mike Jones references. Chamillionaire is at his best when he’s just focused on his own music. He spits over instrumentals like "Slow Motion," "You Don’t Want Drama," and "Slow Jamz," proving that he can compete with the best of ‘em. There are also several original cuts, like "Call Some Hoes," featuring Kanye West and Stat Quo, and "Platinum Stars," featuring Lil’ Flip and Bun B. Other appearances include Slim Thug, Young Ro, and Big Gem. Another standout track is "I"m a Balla," with Far East and Play & Skillz. Chamillionaire gives a interesting vocal introduction to this track, explaining how it all came together. Chamillionaire should just focus on running his own race instead of trying to stop Mike Jones. It’s clear they’re both headed in the same direction. - Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com