Rugged Intellect

Montreal native Rugged Intellect is nice, very nice. His biting punches are the kind that work on several levels and leave opponents scratching their heads, and his immaculate flow never colours outside the lines. But alas, as another Canadian rapper said, "You can’t make an album with 12 battle tracks.” In this case it’s about 15. And the loopy beats don’t do much to break the monotony, they just keep the focus on the hot rhymes. Another vice would appear a virtue at first: his collaborations with R.A. the Rugged Man, Kool G Rap and Ras Kass. These well-knowns bring nothing but B-game, allowing Intellect to slaughter them. Intellect should’ve passed some of the duplicates out to various mix-tapes, creating a bigger buzz, and used the open spaces for more diverse content. There is no renaissance here.