The top four groups in order of importance and relevance to the current southern movement would have to be as follows 1. The Geto Boys, 2. Outkast, 3. 8Ball & MJG, 4. UGK! (some opinions may vary) We are now well into the millennium and all of the aforementioned collectives have weathered the storm of time and still find a way to deliver good music to there fans. 8Ball and MJG in particular have proven over the years to be no exception to that remark with a slew of coinciding radio and street hits. Since winning after aligning themselves with Diddy’s Bad Boy imprint in 2004 its now re-up time for the Orange Mound-Memphis duo with there latest effort Ridin High.

The beginning of the album kicks off with a strong statement as Ball and G spit alongside Project Pat over a commanding beat courtesy of DJ Nasty and LVM on the lead single “Relax and Take Notes”. A few of Biggie’s lines from his posthumous song “Dead Wrong” are lifted for the hook.. Producer Midnight Black takes advantage of his grooving lows on “Whatchu Gonna Do” while 8Ball, Pimp C, and MJG ride over the track just like three southern legends should.

When you first hear “30 Rocks” you’ll definitely confuse the sounds for a Nitti beat, but it’s actually produced by Souldiggaz. Outside of Diddy’s unnecessary rap rants the track turns out to be easily one of the album’s high points. Killer Mike steals the show over Gorilla Tek’s interpretation of R. Kelly’s “When A Woman’s Fed Up” on the loced out burner “Runnin Out Of Bud”. The newest member of Boyz N Da Hood Gorilla Zoe lends a beat to the project with the already mixtape prepped and Yung Joc assisted “Clap On”. 8Ball and MJG both come with there best lyrics on “Alchohal, Pussy, Weed”, the duo displays there blatant ability to tear tracks apart which can only come from a decade plus of rhyming alongside each other.

Eleven years ago 8Ball & MJG alongside Tela on the Suave House hit “Sho Nuff” broke in Jazze Pha’s futuristic production skills. “Pimpin Don’t Fail Me Now” features Juvenile and in many ways has a classic “Space Age Pimp” feel to it but maintains its own identity thanks to Pha’s signature tweaked keys. In a startling moment DJ Toomp comes with one of the weaker contributions of his career on the bland and forgettable “Worldwide”. “Memphis” is a down to earth breathing expression of appreciation for the entire

M-Town from Ball, G, and Al Capone. Producer B-Rock does a great job of mixing fresh instruments and a low grooving bassline for the track. MJG absolutely goes off on the Mr. Bangladesh helmed “Get Low”. The duo breaks down the urgency of life survival tactics when thugs go wild in the club.

The same thing that worked on the last album works this time around and that is a lack of Diddy influence on the project. Ridin High features Ball and G delivering with there dynamic chemistry on what seems to be every track on the album. With the exception of two of the albums 19 offerings Ridin High turns out to be a very weighty edition to the Tennesse Titan’s ever expanding catalogue. Without the presence of any real big hit contenders on the disc die hard fans will have no problem finding a way to ride real high!

VERDICT – 15 / 20
LYRICS: 3
PRODUCTION: 3
DELIVERY: 4
CONSISTENCY: 5