Despite a mystifying lack of commercial airplay, Brooklyn super-emcee AZ remains one of the most celebrated lyricists in today's hip-hop. It's been nearly 20 years since his show-stealing debut on Nas' "Life's a Bitch," and he's still going strong, releasing consistently high-quality albums independently and (thankfully) never changing up his style to adapt to current trends. G.O.D. (standing for "Gold, Oil and Diamonds") is his fourth project to drop in the last year and a half. It finds him doing what he does best: painting vivid pictures with his instantly recognizable, slightly lispy flow. He rhymes about real-life struggles and triumphs over excellent, sample-saturated production from Batkave and Moss. A relatively under-the-radar release from the heads at Siccness.net, meant to tide fans over until his much-hyped Doe Or Die II drops, this is another top-shelf effort from one of the best in the business. Don't miss "Do Me This Way," "Live Your Life," and "Hustle in My Blood."