It's the Cash Money Amateurs. The Cryptonite Massaging Angels. The Chaotic Mooing Albatross. The Come Make Asbestos. Man, we could go on like this for days, so let's just say, it's the California Music Authority. And they are out, like the style police is after Andre of OutKast.

It's pretty simple: if you like the Living Legends, then you will like this. I mean, hands to heart, they do oftentimes sound somewhat similar. They got that smooth vibe, that simple melodic, multi-layered, happy go dark kind of vibe. But we can't even complain. Cause that stuff if tight. So don't think that this will be hard to adapt to, but also don't think that this is just more of the same. For the simple fact, that CMA are PSC of Mystic Journeymen and The Grouch. While the first has been putting in work for the longest, the second has raised the buzz around him with every release he decided to bless the world with. So this combination of two artists, gives the album a unique advantage. Or better, if you want to know what they are thinking, listen to the self explanatory "The CMA".

Keeping the guests sparse, only Izadoe, Pep Love (courtesy a Hieroglyphic) on two cuts, Murs, N8 The Gr8 (of The Cuf) show up to drop some guest rhymes. While The Grouch hogged the boards, he gave up that position to Slurface Tone ("Overall"), 427 ("The Best (You Neva Heard Ov)"), Elusive ("No Easy Way") and Dsharp ("Introspections"), who keep it equally smooth, equally legendary, to make this an overall destined success.

The title cut "Overall" has a nice little hollow pipe sound effect, while educational rhymes take us to the minds of these two gifted emcees. On "Free Will" The Grouch put together a very lounging and jazzy beat, dark, with sparkling hidden treasures, what is the perfect background for the spiritual and freeing rhymes. And the jokingly titled "U Might Knock This (Really!)" gets some lowrider thump, while the emcees flow over it effortlessly, basically just "being in the studio making things pop / locking shit down / creating hip hop". The 427 beat, glitters with a piano, some playful whistles, atmospheric layers that fit in nicely with the overall feel of the album. And also Dsharp's piano make the guest producers walk away with some of the beatprops.

There is so much content to the lyrics, props for not overusing hooks are only one part one has to give. However, not intending to take anything away from the pleasure to discover and decipher the overall content, it would only be a limited model to the reality that "Overall" is. What leaves us with saying, that this is a clever mnemonic album.