Despite proving his ability on numerous occasions, for whatever reason Inspectah Deck's solo career has remained somewhat under the radar, maybe it is just the observant nature of being an inspector rather that the grandstanding gangster? Really I don't know and I am also guilty of not paying enough attention - but that all changes with the release of Manifesto.

The frustratingly short "Tombstone Intro" instantly grabbed my attention with the dark production and set high hopes for the remaining 19 tracks which lay ahead. And at 20 tracks (around 66 minutes) it is a long journey, but thankfully with tracks like "The Champion", "Born Survivor" (the lengthy Obama samples are almost a bit much) and "Serious Rappin'" it is a trip worth taking. There are some bumps along the way with "Really Real" being ruined by the Fest Taylor verse and the weird manly moaning of "yeahhh" and "nahhh", the track "Crazy" uses the overdone pitched hook from the P-Money era.

For the lengthy 20 tracks Raekwon is the only original Wu-Tang clan member to appear, considering Deck's contributions to Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II it is disappointing to have one less than memorable verse from the Chef.

Manifesto is a good release from the Rebel INS, it could have done with a a bit more editing/culling, a full length version of the track "Tombstone" and perhaps a RZA beat or two. It is a shame that it may be overshadowed by Wu-Massacre which was released at the same time.

7.5 /10

Track Listing

1. Tombstone Intro

2. The Champion

3. Born Survivor feat. Cormega

4. This Is It

5. Luv Letter feat. Ms Whitney

6. P.S.A

7. T.R.U.E feat. Meshel

8. We Get Down

9. The Big Game feat. Raekwon & AC

10. Tombstone Interlude

11. 9th Chamber

12. Really Real feat. Carlton Fisk & Fes Taylor

13. Serious Rappin' feat. Termanology & Planet Asia

14. Do What U Gotta

15. Crazy

16. Gotta Bang feat. Kurupt & Billy Danze

17. The Bad Apple

18. Brothaz Respect feat. Cappadonna & Fes Taylor

19. 5 Star G

20. The Neverending Story feat. Pleasant