A real hidden treasure from hip-hop's golden era, Kool G. Rap's sadly underrated Live And Let Die is significantly more akin to the West Coast style dominating the scene at the time than Rap's previous LPs. It comes as no surprise with Sir Jinx producing that Ice Cube managed to stumble into the studio for a few lyrics as do Geto Boys Scarface and Bushwick Bill. Labelmate Big Daddy Kane shows up as well. Some of the songs are a little akin to the fast-paced stuff Cube did on AmeriKKKA's but there are enough slow bass-heavy tunes (sounding much like Scarface's Rap-A-Lot debut) to keep it fresh. And his ode to cock-blocking is fucking hilarious. It's unfortunate that Warner Bros. balked at the record cover and eventually refused the LP's distribution (the bad taste of Body Count still in everyone's mouth) - Live And Let Die never had a chance at the recognition it deserved. Kool G. Rap has stayed on the scene since and has enjoyed a respectable (and respected) career but this is easily my favorite record of his - enjoy.
