From a production standpoint, Push Comes To Shove is pretty solid. Backed mostly by Madlib, Push Comes To Shove is a dosage of his usual musical brilliance. The Bilal sampled bounce of “Never Saw It Coming” and the melodic key chopping of “Special” exude that trademark Stones Throw sound that many have become familiar with. Madlib also hits his pinnacle with the super dope “Can’t Hold On, where hollow keys build around a budding sample. Meanwhile, Mad’s little brother, Oh No, also tears it up thoroughly with the jazzy “Never Give U Up”, showing another aspect of the magnificent production that he is becoming known for. J Dilla also comes correct with the ridiculous “Push” and the exceptionally well produced “So Real”. On the latter, Dilla really outdoes himself with a track sandwiched with a multitude of appropriately balanced sounds, giving the track a simple, yet well choreographed vibe.  

    With all this production hovering about, the question that remains is, what does MED have to do to keep this album from faltering? Well, the answer is nothing and pretty much that’s what he talks about throughout the album. Actually it is a little more than nothing (battling, talking shit and the occasional clever line), but nothing to jump out of your seat over. MED is a good enough emcee, but the critique from many remains that once you heard one Oxnard emcee, you’ve heard them all. The style, delivery and cadence rarely fluctuate on this album which is the same for other members of the Ox. Truthfully though, with all this production bliss, one will become so shrouded with music that they may not care if what MED is saying is relevant. 

   Push Comes To Shove makes an attempt to broaden audiences who are not familiar with Stones Throw’s stable, with somewhat corny radio attempts such as Just Blaze track “Get Back”, but fails to break out of the Oxnard mold. This album attempts to win new fans, but doesn’t do enough from a lyrical standpoint to crossover. But if new heads gave it a listen, they would see that the Ox actually does have a lot to offer, it’s just a matter of convincing them that it is fresh and not more of the same.