Based on the cover art alone, you have good feelings about this album.  The Gunnaz rock adidas from head to toe poised in the b-boy stance obviously paying homage to Run DMC.  It brings you back to the simple drum patterns and deep bass lines of old.  It starts off rather slow with the Chad “Wes” produced “The Knock Is Here”, reintroducing Young Gunz to the public. After the initial offering it does nothing but improve, Swizz providing two of his dopest tracks to date with the radio hit “Set It Off” and the dark but lovely “Beef”.  Chad Hamilton (or Chad “Wes” as he as been dubbed by the industry) really shows some versatility in his tracks.  The R&B crooning of “Don’t Keep Me Waiting” feat 112 is still enjoyable, and the west coast vibe of “Tonight” feat Daz keeps your head nodding.  Young Gunz hold their own on the mic, but the album is riddled with unusual, yet banging beats.  New comers Bangledesh (“Same Shit Different Day”) and Boola (“What We Gotta Do”) both come through with flying colors on their debut tracks, with “Same Shit Different Day” being a standout.  No ROC album is complete without the token Kanye West track, which is dope but overshadowed by the assortment of solid joints.  Despite very few pitfalls the album is surprisingly good coming from the label that has signed a lot less talented artists. 

    For the people that are waiting for M.O.P. to drop a classic album, it probably isn’t going to happen on the ROC, but if you want a solid album with great production, go pick up “Brothers from Another” you won’t be disappointed.

While Freeway and Beanie Sigel lyrically pistol whip listeners over beats that are just as striking, Neef and Chris adhere to a more smoothed out approach, as they slick talk (Neef quips “I get a kick out of the bitch like Jet Li” on “Parade” f/Freeway) there way over more soulful nods; some of which have already found a comfortable crossover niche; exemplified by the radio-friendly grooves of “No Better Love” w/ Rell, “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop (Remix)”, and the emotive “Life We Chose” w/ Denim. 

While the Roc’s A-Team (Kanye West & Just Blaze) production mainstays take a siesta for the most part; Just Blaze does make his presence felt with “Tough Luv” and the raw “Friday Night”.  Neef & Chris primarily relay on a batch of relative unknowns to handle the majority of their production duties.  And with Jay-Z and his A&R staff becoming synonymous for breaking up-and-coming producers that trend once again rings true here in the form of Chad Hamilton.  After cutting his teeth by contributing five tracks on State Property’s The Chain Gang Vol.II, Hamilton really shines here, as he weaves in accessible samples that display the pop-sensibilities (“No Better Love” and “Grown Man”) necessary to cash R&B checks and proves to be just as apt at creating more menacing nods as well; check the trill keyboards of “North Of Death”.  However, if Hamilton truly aspires to become the next Roc-A-Fella find, he’ll need to ease up on the cheese factor as his corny attempt at flipping Hall & Oates “Rich Girl” backfires miserably with “Girlz” w/ Juelz Santana.

With R&B choruses and guests spots aplenty, it’s apparent that Neef & Chris are readily adhering to the their labels “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” script; but at least the major players are up to the task, as Cam’ron infuses some needed energy on “Look In Your Eyes” and Jay-Z drops not one, but two verses over Scott Storch’s manic piano stabs on “Never Take Me Alive”.

While Neef & Chris may not possess the intangibles of some of their more established label-mates, they do deliver a diverse LP that proves it’s better to have Tough Luv than no love at all!