Certified – Lil' Flip

Certified is Lil' Flip's second collaborative album for the indie Real Talk label, arriving just over a year after the first, All Eyez on Us, with Young Noble. Here his partner is Gudda Gudda from Lil Wayne's Young Money crew, and the results are an unsurprisingly lighter album with plenty of party tunes, a handful of Boss numbers, and a couple of forgettable tracks that drool over the ladies. As "Smoke and Ride" and "I Love Cali" -- both heavily influenced by the G-Funk sound -- compete for the top spot on your weekend playlist, the sampled strings swirling and boasts of "I spit hard on these pimps/Like I'm missing a tooth" makes the title cut the obvious choice for hardcore ballers. The lyrical highlight, "Down South Legends," tells the story of how these two came up through the rap game with plenty of great throwback references. Longtime fans craving the Fliparaci's strange sense of humor will also enjoy the way the woozy "I Keep It Street All Day" which is "ridin' you like you I'm disabled," uses a half-speed interpolation of the James Bond theme as its base, and is introduced by Johnny Depp's "man in the depths of an ether binge" rant from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The duo's chemistry is fine and the beats are above average, supplied by the likes of Cozmo and Hollis of the Beat Killaz. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide