One Life 2 Live

by Leo StanleyOne Life 2 Live is a funky gangsta rap record in the vein of The Chronic, Doggystyle and All Eyez On Me. Namely, it's the kind of record where the nominal lead rapper, in this case C-Bo, acts more like a ringleader than a rapper, coordinating all of his fellow rappers through a number of party-jams and rarely taking the spotlight himself. Generally, this doesn't make the music weaker -- especially in the case of the afore-mentioned albums -- but it makes them stylistically indistinct, which is the problem with One Life 2 Live. Since there is a revolving cast of generic rappers, the album never develops a personality of its own. It's good for parties, but that's about it.