Hustle Till I Die

Arriving just over a month after DJ Paul’s Scale-A-Ton, Juicy J’s Hustle Till I Die continued the campaign to make 2009 the year of the Three 6 Mafia solo album. In other words, its 2002 all over again, which also happens to be the year J’s previous and less satisfying solo effort, Chronicles of the Juice Man, arrived. With the pimp anthem “30 Inches” (“I’m so hood/30 inches on the Chevrolet”) included, Hustle is instantly the superior effort. Add the sleazy, pelvic-thrustin’ “Ugh Ugh Ugh” plus the drug-hungry Gorilla Zoe feature “Purple Kush” and it’s recommendable to even the casual fan. Hardcore purists who think the Three 6 should always remain gutter and graveyard have the spooky “Ghost Dope” to look forward to, but they might be alienated by how often the album goes for the club track and nails it. Besides a handful of great guest shots from Three 6’s Project Pat, Hustle introduces up-and-coming affiliate V Slash, who acts as J’s own Flavor Flav on the creeping, fourth-quarter highlight “F**k All Yall.”