Regardless of what you thought of Project Pat’s last album, Crook By Da Book, it’s impossible to argue that his last album was marred with controversy. Sony attempted to make Pat crossover, which is damn near impossible, and Pat obviously was not comfortable with the singles they chose to release. After sales failed to meet the expectations of label execs, the label pretty much gave up on promotion and Pat decided to get out of his contract and move to Koch.

With Pat’s new album Walkin Bank Roll, it was obvious that Koch gave him more creative control and let him take an interesting yet familiar approach to the project. The result is some of Pat’s most raw and uncut material, comparable to previous works such as Mista Don’t Play and Layin Da Smack Down. And while it’s nearly impossible to top Pat’s debut album, Ghetty Green, Walkin Bank Roll is an honest attempt at reclaiming that classic Hypnotize Minds sound. And while Three 6 Mafia has taken the opposite direction in making their music more commercially viable, it’s obvious that Project Pat is going the other way with Walkin Bank Roll, which includes some of the rappers most creative and violent material to date.

Reaffirming Pat’s street credibility is one of the overriding themes of Walkin Bank Roll, especially with tracks like “Powder,” where he raps about robbing people while high on cocaine, and “Finna Start Robbin,” where the main topic is robbing people when there isn’t any more dope left to sell. These are obviously two of the darkest tracks on the album, where the production is extremely influential in creating a fitting musical backdrop for Pat’s violent imagery. The detailed lyrics really give you a peek into Project Pat’s current mindstate, especially on “Finna Start Robbin,” where Pat says “Bars I aint scared of them/ Ya n*ggas, I aint scared them/ Robbed two of them cowards for they chains/ Now I’m wearin them.”

Walkin Bank Roll isn’t all shoot em up this and dope that though. There is, of course, the ever-present Project Pat dirty sex song “Hit It,” with the hilarious chorus where some girl sings, “Hit It From The Back. Punish Me. Punish Me.” There’s also a song called “Wagon Wheels,” where Pat raps about riding on 30 inch rims, which I wasn’t even aware of until I heard this song. “Motivated” with Will Wessun is one of the only songs that tones down the violent and misogynistic lyrics, where Project Pat raps about how haters and God keep him motivated to continue making music. He even talks “putting God first” at the beginning of the song and then proceeds to rap on the second verse “Fee Fi Fo Fum You can feel the slugs/ out this Mossberg shotgun, chest full of blood.” The contradictions in this album are numbered and pretty hilarious, but make for good music nonetheless.

“See You Fall” is easily one of the best songs on the album, where Pat talks about all the people trying to stop his career from succeeding, especially women, old friends, snitches, and people trying to rob him. DJ Paul sounds good on the hook and the production on this track is pretty incredible. “Talkin Smart To A Pimp” with Pimp C is a great track, where Pimp and Pat lyrically let loose on some scandalous women over Juicy J and DJ Paul’s laidback production. The production on this album, overall, is actually pretty impressive, with the beats not sounding like your typical Three 6 Mafia beats. It seems like DJ Paul and Juicy J got a little bit more creative with the production on this album, adding in some choral arrangements and electric guitars in a few songs.

With Project Pat’s new album, you also get your classic weed-smoking song “Good Weed,” where Juicy J raps on the hook “This weed good. Man, I’m high as a mufucka.” I guess you just start running out of material after making at least a dozen weed smoking songs throughout your career, but “Good Weed” is actually pretty decent, especially if you’re a smoker. Walkin Bank Roll is a pretty good album and I think fans of Hypnotize Minds will probably enjoy it, but it really fails to bring anything creative or new to the game. Undoubtedly, there are a few weak songs on the album as well, which really hinders its overall appeal.