Sometimes things are not like you expected. When Prodigy released “The Life,” I was really excited about his new album (plus last year's album was dope too). It seemed Prodigy was still focused on the mic and Alchemist had found a new sound for him which could be as fantastic as The Return Of The Mac’s beats. You actually get quite satisfied when you listen to the first track, “Real Power Is People”. That’s a wonderfully calculated intro for “The Life”. The album sounds solid till the fourth or fifth track. Then, some boring beats and rhymes make an appearance and by the end of it monotony is the tendency from track to track. The other vocal collaborations don’t help much, though. It’s a pity because it could have been great if Alchemist had just used the instrumental concept of “The Life” for some other songs (or perhaps there are too many beats from Sid Roams) and Prodigy had managed to write just a few more solid verses. - Grey