The last in a string of four albums that Shinehead would release for Elektra in the ‘90s, Troddin’ follows hard on the heels of 1992’s Sidewalk University, an album that had abruptly brought Shinehead mainstream success in the UK on the strength of its lead single, a ragga-tinged cover of Sting’s “Englishman In New York.” With Troddin’ Shinehead opted to return to the street-oriented blend of digital dancehall and hardcore New York hip-hop that characterized his earlier releases, rather than capitalizing on the crossover success of Sidewalk University’s more accessible sound. Though this decision may well have cost Shinehead commercially, it resulted in one of the strongest and most stylistically coherent releases of his career. On Troddin’ Shinehead proves himself a reliably versatile performer, delivering blazing verses over both Clark Kent’s break-beat laden productions and Bobby Digital’s ragga rhythms. Though Troddin’ is arguably Shinehead’s best major-label recording, his failure to reproduce the success of “Englishman In New York” assured that is was also his last.