This came out in 2000 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
This former member of Compton rap outfit Above the Law was a protege of Eazy-E. But on the funky and formidable They Call Me Mr. Kane, his first solo album since 1994, he owes as much of a debt to P-Funk as to N.W.A.
Showing off his songwriting roots — he’s the son and namesake of Motown tunesmith Jerry Long — Kokane raises the bar by building his foul-mouthed gangster rhymes atop a solid-gold foundation of nimble R&B, funk and hip-hop. Among his construction materials: Plenty of low-riding bottom end, rubber bass lines and multi-layered, flowing jams that never fail to get down on the one. “Ain’t nothing but a gangsta melody, y’all!” boasts Kokane. Ain’t nothing but a party, either.