After years of being behind the boards and producing some of the hottest Hip-Hop tracks ever, Easy Mo Bee has finally taken the front seat and put out his own solo project, Now Or Never: Odyssey 2000. This time Mo Bee not only wears the producer hat but also flexes his skills on the mic to show he is multi-talented.

Jumping right into it with no intro, "Now Or Never" leads off the album. Strictly a Mo Bee solo track, the violin sample and rugged drum-loop is what made him so famous in the first place. "Sunstroke" follows up and features Sauce Money, Da Ranjahs & G da K. With a more up-tempo track these MC's work surprisingly well together.

This formula is what the album follows the whole way through. With the exception of a few solo tracks, the album features some pretty odd combinations. "Shit's Goin' Down" by Da Nation featuring Kurupt and "Sound Of My Heart" by Snoop Dogg & Glaze N.Y. featuring Ken, are two perfect examples of why you shouldn't just get anybody that can rhyme and throw them together. Tracks like this sound too forced and uncomfortable.

The production, though, is the main thing holding this album back from what could have been a classic. Where Mo Bee used to shine lending his talent to other MC's records, he can't seem to reproduce the same magic for himself. It looks as if he has given his best efforts away. Although he does come through a few times on track like "Soul" by Gang Starr, "N.Y.C." by Kool G Rap featuring Jinx Da Juvy and "We Pledge Allegiance" by the Cocoa Brovaz featuring Prodigy, they are just to few and far between.

The overall outcome of the album is one of major disappointment. With plenty of options to be dope it just never comes through. Easy Mo Bee should have crafted classic beats around just one artist instead of using mediocre tracks that don't fit the collage of artists he throws together. All we can hope is that he still brings the heat on tracks he produces for other people.

By JC