Tracks:
01 - Intro: Lyrically Beautiful feat. J Crow
02 - One, The feat. Bless Man
03 - A-P-L-U-S
04 - A Beautiful Thing feat. Casual
05 - Patna Please
06 - What's Hannin' feat. Ty Nitty
07 - My Last Good Deed
08 - My Dub Song
09 - Nothin Fake / The Ultimate feat. Del The Funky Homosapien & Pep Love
10 - Goodtime Charlie
11 - Kiss The Sky feat. Jennifer Johns
12 - Javelin feat. J.C. & Ty Nitty
13 - Far Away feat. Sunspot Jonz & Femi
14 - Right Quick feat. Souls Of Mischief
15 - Outro: Unbroken feat. Alena Vance
16 - Now There You Go
17 - Hit That Marley
Having being in the rap game for more than 25 years, constantly toured the globe, being a founder of major independent Hip-Hop group Hieroglyphics and a member of Soul of Mischief, its no wonder it has taken so long for A Plus to get a solo album out. The question is, after waiting so long, will the album live up to the hype and can A Plus carry his group success into his solo career.
"My Last Good Deed" takes the listener on a journey into A Plus' psyche and at times gets quite personal as he shares what he has learnt and experienced in his 25 years in Hip-Hop. Maybe it is the freedom from the rest of the group that allows him to do so and this isn't a bad thing. While the album does contain some comedic elements, like "My Dub," A Plus' twisted take on the traditional love song substituting love references with references to weed, it is the more serious elements that end up standing out from the rest, i.e. "Kiss The Sky" and .the empowering "A Beautiful Thing."
On the production side of things A Plus would have to get, erm, an A Plus. As part of the production duo Compound7, with AAGEE, A Plus produced all bar four of the tracks on the album. As he says himself "hip-hop is like potpourri - you can take bits and pieces from any genre and make them into a hip-hop song," and this couldn't be more evident on the album. With such a varying use of styles and instruments spread about the track list, not only are the sounds kept fresh, but different. Whether it is his choice of sound effects for tracks like "What's Hannin'," the excellent selection of live instrumentation (all of which are played by A Plus) on "Nothin' Fake / The Ultimate" or the reggae inspired electric guitar and beat combination of "The One," it all sounds good and retains that impossible to replicate Hieroglyphics sound.
An A Plus solo album has been a long time coming, but the wait was worth it. "My Last Good Deed" offers a consistently good album, with enough variety between the songs to keep you coming back for more. Souls of Mischief and Hieroglyphics fans will not be disappointed with the album and those not familiar with their work will get a prime example of what Hieroglyphics are all about. A Plus is a more than capable solo artist, lets just hope "My Last Good Deed" isn't his last good solo album.
Hot Tracks:
"Right Quik," "Far Away," "Kiss The Sky," "The One," "What's Hannin'"
Verdict: 7.5/10
Artist: A Plus