After playing henchman on Jeru The Damaja's first two albums, Afu-Ra steps into the solo spotlight with this solid effort. While Jeru himself is missing from the proceedings, for those already familiar with the Afu-Ra, many elements of previous outings remain. His lyrics are stacked with the metaphysical and mathematical content that blesses the singles "Whirlwind Through Cities" and "Defeat", and as a satellite member of the Gang Starr Foundation, Afu-Ra wisely retains the services of DJ Premier as executive producer. Despite the presence of other beat merchants, the uncompromisingly hard-boiled beats bear Premier's trademark and he also deserves credit for the shrewd recruiting of collaborators like the Cocoa Brovaz (on "D & D Soundclash") and M.O.P. (on "Warfare"). Afu-Ra's earnest dispensing of knowledge, wisdom and understanding at times becomes repetitive in both delivery and content, but the presence of other voices and the above-par production cleverly disguises the monotony. --Del F. Cowie