The Thug Matrix series were originally mixtape CD’s issued by Trag‘s 25 Ta Life label, which were later bootlegged and then re-issued through Fastlife…although 2005′s Thug Matrix seemed to be mostly new tracks, so it gets confusing. There’s no doubt, however, that Thug Matrix 3 is all newest/latest material, weighing in at a lean 32 minutes over ten tracks, it certainly doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. Musically it’s a lot stronger than the last couple of CD’s The Foul Mahdi issued prior to his up north trip, and although Trag still retains many of his trademark catch-phrases he seems to have focused more on the political angle of his work and eased back on the gun talk, if that sort of thing matters to you.

In stark contrast to Prodigy, who saw seemed to have gotten lazier and more uninspired since his return (and has received far more media attention for everything except his music), Tragedy hasn’t missed a step and sounds more focused than he has in years. ‘Gorilla Warfare Status’ is a stand-out, featuring one of two posthumous appearances from Killa Sha, while Ayatollah supplies another quality backing for ‘Black Prince’ (which also shout-out’s Combat Jack) and Audible Doctor wins with ‘Outstanding’. Consider this a warm-up for the official LP, The Last Report, which I’m expecting to be a worthwhile addition to the legacy base don what I’ve heard here. Time will tell…

Cop it on iTunes.