If there ever was an emcee who belonged on the back of a milk carton, the Queens native who spit along side A Tribe Called Quest on the under appreciated Beats Rhymes and Life, who also happens to be Q-Tip’s cousin, Consequence. After the initially disappointing, but later appreciated performance Cons drifted off into the land of obscurity never to be heard from again…. until now. After almost seven years in the hole, Consequence resurrects with a refined flow and damn near seven years worth of material. All this combined with a little assistance from the Roc-A-Fella producer of the moment, Kanye West, the two Con’s themselves (Cons and Kan) produce the aptly titled The Cons Vol 1: All Sales Are Final.

The Cons Vol 1 is a package with a slew of new songs and freestyles over other popular beats. Twenty-six tracks in all, Vol 1 doesn’t seem like it’ll ever need a Volume 2 (but it and a new mix CD have already dropped). It is almost an absurd amount of material but given the situation of the artist it seems that it is necessary for Consequence to beat you over the head with what he’s been doing since ’96. Obviously he’s been doing allot and proves it on “Good, Bad, Ugly” (feat. Kanye West) where the kid demonstrates how far he’s progressed over a soulful banger by Mr. West himself. It seems Kanye also took the opportunity to bless the mic as well as he and his production pop up on a majority of the CD. Where Consequence truly shows his maturity as an emcee is on the 88 Keys produced “1988″. Consequence stands firmly on his own two, spitting his own rendition of Jay-Z’s “22 Two’s” (88′s) without sounding forced. A shining spot for him indeed, and quickly proving that he wasted no time in hip hop exile, continuing to fire off his lyrical aggression on tracks like “Lee Harvey Oswald (Pay U Back)” and “Fa Sho”.  Cons also works the subject matter angle on the self-explanitory “Drama”, while Kanye gives us a preview of what’s to come on “A Million”, a Toni Braxton dis (?) over the DJ Premier produced “A Million & One Questions” from Jay-Z’s In My Lifetime Vol 1. It seems that Consequence made a valuable acquaintance by aligning himself with the illustrious Kanye West, which will hardly hurt his future. The two seem to trade verses well, and who knows what the future may hold for the two.

The only problem is that maybe this CD needed a Vol 2. after all. With such a ridiculous amount of material including some extra long skits, it makes it a difficult listen all the way through. Unless you have a patient ear and a long day you probably won’t be able to digest Consequence’s offering in one sitting. It simply is just too much at once and one too many freestyles and not enough new joints. But trust that this kid is all grown up now and has absolutely no cobwebs on that pen at all. It will be interesting to see how he handles his second chance and how his career unfolds in the process.