The long wait for Sean Price's solo effort Mic Tyson was due to the birth of the rapper's son, but career-wise, plenty happened between this one and 2007's Jesus Price Supastar. His membership in Random Axe, along with Black Milk and Guilty Simpson, introduced his gruff and direct style to a whole new audience, and then he became a household name for the button-mashing set when the video game NBA 2K11 featured him as a selectable, playable character. That's some serious crossover heat, but Mic Tyson is concerned about a payoff and is less flashy than the boxer its title plays off, sounding somewhere between a rough-and-ready mixtape and sound street release with just that extra bit of production that puts it in the category of official. Highlights include the hood lullaby "Hush" ("Hush little baby, don't say a word/Ruck is gonna hit you with the nine than you heard") and "Battering Bars," where Price rides a soulful Beat Butcha production. Producer the Alchemist offers four true bangers to the set, while 9th Wonder shows up with "Straight Music," one of his most minimal soul constructions to date. Speaking of minimal, most tracks barely pass the two-minute mark, but Price's material-starved fans are craving his words more than beats, so don't call it a comeback but a wicked, wordy return. ~ David Jeffries

Rovi