Mystikal - Mystikal (CD)

All Music Guide

Before Mystikal enlisted in Master P's No Limit army, he recorded for Big Boy, another New Orleans label and one that foreshadowed the Dirty South explosion that was about to take place in the late '90s. Mystikal delivers his rhymes with frenzied finesse here, not quite as aggressively as he would later but certainly as fluidly. This self-titled effort doesn't come close to matching Mystikal's later work, not even his No Limit albums, as the production is of budget quality and the songwriting similarly lacking. Even so, the stronger moments like "Ya'll Ain't Ready Yet" and "Not That Nigga" impressed Jive Records, who re-released this a year later in 1996 as Mind of Mystikal. That re-release is the one to get, since it appends "Here I Go," an amazing song that blows away anything here and one that quickly became a Dirty South anthem.

- Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide