• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

  (Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)

  Not age appropriate for kids under 13, age appropriate for kids over 15; suggested age 14.

• Is it any good?

  5.0

• Common Sense says

  Insightful, fairly clean, and never ever boring.

Why We Rated This for Ages 14–15

The good stuff

• Messages:

  Mostly thoughtful, self-revealing stuff about the challenges of becoming a man in a complex world, including some words of wisdom: "If you admire somebody you should go ahead and tell um/People never get the flowers while they could still smell um," "For me givin' up's way harder than tryin'," and "You graduate when you make it up outta the streets."

What to watch out for

• Violence:

  Some visceral lyrics about violence, mostly expressing an anti-violent message, as in "Just last year Chicago had over 600 caskets/Man, killin's some wack s--t."
• Sex:

  More flirty and funny than explicit, especially on the punchline of "Drunk and Hot Girls" ("I thought I'd be with you for only one night/Now I'm with this girl for the rest of my life").
• Language:

  Fondness for the "F" and "S" words, but not nearly as tediously as on some other hip-hip CDs. The "N" word is used a few times.
• Consumerism:

  Clothing and car brands are mentioned; CD package contains ads for ringtones.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Not the biggest deal here: The occasional quick reference to drinking.

What Parents Need to Know

About Graduation

Families Can Talk About