Thirteen years have passed since Capone and Noreaga released the first 'War Report' album. Since then, both have had varied solo careers, especially N.O.R.E, who has "inflicted" his distinct voice but "Group Home" standard rhyme flow in the intervening years.

I'm not sure, given the changes in hip-hop and that New York is hardly the Crown Royale of the art form anymore, where Capone and Nore actually see themselves. But having said that, the album is a solid piece of work. I'm just not sure it will appeal to this generation's fickle tastes, especially as It can be argued that hip-hop has been steadily on the decline ever since the mid 1990s.

'War Report 2' takes things back to a couple of years after rap music squeezed its last creative lime; the album is littered with references to those heady days when we all wanted hip-hop to be all conquering as an art-form, but not at the expense of rough beats, rhymes and baselines and a heart-breaking lack of the boom-bap.

The difference between this 'War Report' and the last one, could be the ommission of Tragedy, formerly (a long time ago, in fact) the Intelligent Hoodlum, who was given a bid upstate in one of New York's concrete hotels whilst the album was being completed. But Tragedy's ommission is perhaps the best thing to happen to Capone and N.O.R.E, as they've had to step up their rhymes and their concepts, putting an extra percentage into the album, in terms of quality control.

The album opens with samples from the CNN channel and a sample about the nature of war, into a piano-stabbing, sinister effort called 'Pain' produced by Alchemist. It's another memorable example of hip-hop darkness and the end of the world as told by rappers. 'Dutches V Phillies V Bamboo' features Raekwon on cameo duties, with a distorted female vocal refrain and stripped-down boom bap beat. It's another joint about the pleasures of well... joints! The weak point of the album comes early: "My Attribute" has N.O.R.E waxing lyrical about anything he want's to boast about. The rhymes are inventive, but the delivery is more Dr. Dre than Rakim. The beat thunders, suitably operatic in construction, but Capone complimenting this boastful track doesn't really pay off, and the chemistry between the pair evaporates like slag at the bottom of a Bunsen burner experiment.

Thankfully, 'War Report' stays on message with the terrific 'Hood Pride,' with a hook from Faith Evans, a song that plays like a ghetto 'Empire State of Mind'. N.O.R.E and Capone rep their hell-hole hood of Queensbridge in blistering style. It's an anthem for robbers and shook ones alike, featuring a chubby, Dr. Dre sound-a-like bassline wrapped around a rolling loop of piano samples.

'Live On, Live Long pt.2' is a homage to Tragedy, arguably the heart of the original 'War Report.' The beat is heartfelt and reflective, featuring snippets of the original beat from the first album; it's a sad song of lives lost to crime and death. It becomes the soulful lament of the album.

But, the standout track has to be 'The Oath', a very creative track featuring the rhyming skills of Busta Rhymes and Raekwon, where Spanish interchanges with English, and where all the rappers are given "oaths" to live their lives by. It's a boom-baptastic beat that recreates the image of rap heavyweights sitting around a table like a rap version of 'The Sopranos', or a nod to that short-lived collective known as The Firm (featuring Nas, who also features on this album, in a lacklustre cameo).

I could have done without tracks like 'Scarface.' If there's anything to date an album before its fermented, it's using 'Scarface' in any regard, no matter how iconic Tony Montana as a character and 'Scarface' as a film might be. It's boring, and this track is no exception.

There's a little too much piano on the album, but the stripped-down moments of the boom-bap and drum patterns that create the raw essence of hip-hop, bringing it back to a more innocent, more creative time, are highly enjoyable.

Both Capone and N.O.R.E are pretty average when it comes to rhymes, but they both have distinct voices that have served them well, together, and on solo projects. They also have some more creative, more talented friends. Thanks to them and some hot production, the weak points on 'War Report 2' are forgivable, even forgettable.

In the main, this is a solid piece of work that has tried to recreate another time and place. This doesn't mean the album is dated or sounds old, it just means they're paying respect to a musical genre that has lost so much heart and soul in the last thirteen or so years. It's a sad, and at the same time, heartening listening experience.