Lil Zane's The Return: An Unimpressive Attempt at Hip Hop

Lil Zane was once one of the brightest young stars in all of hip-hop music, but after the critical and commercial failure of his last album, The Big Zane Theory, Zane vanished into obscurity. Will Zane be able to reach the success of his first album, Young World: The Future, or will he reach the same lack of success of The Big Zane Theory?The Return, Zane's first album in five years, will look to once again solidify his place in hip hop.

Like This features a beat which is very similar to Bow Wow's previous hit Fresh Azimiz. However the song does not have the charm or catchiness of that single. The song also features Zane imitating fellow rapper T.I.'s flow.

Helpless is definitely the most introspective track on the album. The song features Lil Zane actually talking about issues that matter. The beat is simple yet catchy and the song is just delivered very well.

Do My Thing features rapper Sterling not to be confused with R&B artist with the same name. The song like the rest of the album just falls flat. Lyrically Lil Zane has not seemed to improve at all during his hiatus.

Do What You Do features one of the most annoying beats in recent memory. The track just is incredibly weak lyrically and production wise. The track talks about how other artists copy Lil Zane's style and flow; if this was the case all rappers would sell no records.

Anywhere Part 2 is a sequel to his hit single with R&B group 112. However the effort just falls short. The production is clearly second rate; and the lyrical contents and the delivery are just boring.

Hush is the most female friendly track on the album. The track features a vocal sample of the children's nursery rhyme Hush Little Baby. However Lil Zane's crooning on the track just completely destroys whatever strong point might be featured on the track.

On Hustler's Anthem, Lil Zane is joined by B. Hollywood. The track is actually one of the strongest tracks on the album. The song probably features the catchiest beat on the entire album.

Overall, The Return was definitely not worth the wait. It seems as if the rap game has clearly passed Lil Zane by. Throughout the album it seems as if Lil Zane imitates all of the successful artists in hip hop. However, his form of imitation often ends with trips to the fast forward button. Overall, The Return gets 6 out of 10. If you are a fan of Lil Zane make sure you pick up his new album The Return when it is available in stores on March 4.