Over a decade into a career that has never propelled
AZ
into the commercial position the uniformly high quality of his music has deserved,
A.W.O.L.
is yet another quietly excellent slice of powerful
hip-hop
that deserves greater acclaim.
"Never Change"
alone is a small masterpiece, an evocation of the strong bonds of friendship that's set to a track that effectively uses a wailing
R&B
diva voice (think, believe it or not, of
"The Great Gig in the Sky"
by
Pink Floyd
!) without turning it into a cheap, distracting hook. Although several producers contribute to
,
(born
Anthony Cruz
) is commanding enough a focal point that the album hangs together as a whole. Tough without being thuggish, and clear-eyed and un-glamorizing about the gritty topics of songs like
"Still Alive"
and
"Envious,"
is at least the equal of better-known contemporaries like
Nas
, and
is further proof of his talents. ~ Stewart Mason