The years-in-the-making Welcome 2 Collegrove marks the second collaborative project by these longtime colleagues and close friends. The pair released Collegrove in 2016, an album overshadowed by Wayne’s label troubles and effectively a 2 Chainz solo effort with a handful of Lil Wayne features tacked on for good measure. The sequel might not see the duo vibing like Ghost and Rae on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, but their chemistry is evident, born out of a real kinship that authentically translates on wax.

The album is sequenced like a blockbuster film, broken up by five scenes narrated by 50 Cent. Thematically, the songs don’t quite fit each scene (“Crazy Thick” should probably be filed under “Scene 3: Ladies Man”), but these brief interludes effectively frame the overall big-budget movie they’re screening. The album sounds expensive, and the production lineup reads like a Southern rap Hall of Fame: Mannie Fresh, DJ Toomp, Juicy J, and Mike Dean. Not to be outdone, New York luminary Havoc provides two of the album’s best beats on the ODB tribute “Shame” and the aptly titled “Bars.”