War & Peace, Vol.2 (The Peace Disc)
Is it too obvious to note that there's little peace to be found on the second volume of Ice Cube's would-be conceptual set? ThroughoutThe Peace Disc, Cube and guests return to the theme "Keep it gangsta"--which at least partly means projecting an image of embattled, weary, but proud warriors at every turn. While strongly produced and delivered, the songs generally don't signify much that we haven't heard before. A few party tracks ("You Can Do It") and the somewhat softhearted "Until We Rich" stand out, but there's little here really worth mentioning in the same breath as Cube classics as far afield as "It Was a Good Day" and "When I Get to Heaven."--Rickey Wright