Lil' Sach returns with his Third solo album. He's been producing a few tunes on various Envy compilation albums, but we have not been treated to a solo album since Pure Hip Hop 3. It's interesting to see that the album has "A Sanj Production" written at the top, as if he is producing the album, what's Lil' Sach's role? Well, he sure isn't singing, so I'm guessing Sanj has some kind of executive production input into the release of his younger brother's latest album. Anyway, who really cares, time to actually review 'Next of Kin.'

The album kicks off with an intro by Hollywood Harv. It's quite funny, and I like the way Harv can alternate between English and Punjabi, without sounding odd. There is a comment to do with 'internet DJ's' and 'chatroom gangsters.' Not sure whom he is referring to here, but I'm sure they had their reasons.

Onto the actual music, and the album's first tune is 'Sara Pindh Mitra Da' sung by Karan MC. Quite simply, if you were a huge fan of Das Ja, and Sohneh Lengey Waliah (Death Jamm 2004), you'll love this. Karan MC seems to be an in-house singer of Envy's, as I have not seen him appear on any other albums. He has a very strong and distinctive voice, and I look forward to hearing more from him. Not sure on the MC part of his name though. The beat, as you may expect, is very desi and dance friendly.

Lishkarey Teray Kokay The is Track 2, and is again sung by Karan MC. This song samples the beat from Marques Houston's Clubbin' tune. The tune also features Jindi, who performs a role similar to the one that Shortie Lox did in Zeus' album. The tune is very different from the first one. Karan MC again does a decent job. As y'all know, I ain't the biggest fan of sampling, but it works quite well in this tune. It's not as if it is the only beat going on in the tune, as Sach has subtly added his own production. This tune is heavy - but I think the main reason I like it so much is due to the fact I love the Marques Houston track.

The fourth track is entitled Dedication to Surjit Bindrakhia by Binder Bajwa. It is just over a minute long and is more like an intro to Lil' Sach Boli. I feel it was a good idea to do a tribute to such a legendary singer.

Lil' Sach Boli is the actual dedication. Various Bindrakhia classic tunes are sampled in this. Binder Bajwa and KARAN MC have sung the song. The lyrics have been changed, so you may not recognise all of them, but the melodies remain unmistakable. I'm not sure how wise a decision it was to re-word the lyrics - I mean Bas Kar sounds so much better than Chup Kar! The beat is again desi. It is interesting to note that some of Bindrakhia's biggest tunes are missing from this track - perhaps a conscious effort to achieve this was taken. A decent track overall, not really up to the standard of the first two.

Track 6 is called Chutti Panni, and introduces us (well, for me anyway) to the vocal talents of Sukhwinder Gossal. I have not heard of this singer before, but he does a decent job. The beat is again desi. It seems Lil Sach either enjoys just ripping a sample of or producing a totally desi track at this point in the album. Overall, this is just an average tune. Not bad, but not a reason to rush out and buy the album. I see it as more of album filler really.

Canada sees the return of Karan MC to the album. This time Sach has decided to use the Busta Rhymes/Mariah Carey beat. This beat does complement the tabla beats that are used by Sach. The lyrics are decent, and a little different to the normal stuff. The use of the harmonium to the melody of the sample is top. Well thought out piece of production. However, overall the tune doesn't really do much for me. Just a fairly average tune again.

Track 8 is called Dil Kuriyeh, and is sung by Soni, with Jindi again tagging along. The beat falls into the hip-hop category, and I can't see any blatant use of a sample here, so I guess I have to take back my earlier comment. It's a decent beat, and Jindi has some interesting lyrics. Soni also sings well - a fairly good tune overall.

Saira Khan sings track 9 - Naina. Now this song is well sung, and the beat is quite good in my opinion - no blatant samples, and quite a funky hip-hop beat. Rowdy Brown takes over the MC'ing duties, and also does a respectable job. However, how many times has Naina been sung? To include it in an album is near inexcusable to me. The song is sung in the exact same melody and style as it has been done so in the past. Hence, I'm not really impressed with this at all. I know it's made waves on the Bobby & Nihal show, but it doesn't bring anything to me that I have not heard before. Still, I look forward to hearing more singing from Saira Khan - but perhaps she could come out with some original lyrics?

The tenth track is Ranja, and is again sung by Karan MC. This track was originally on the first Urban Explosion album. That was the first time I had heard this singer's voice, and I was understandably impressed. The track was accredited to Sanj on that album (if my memory serves me correct), so it's interesting to see it on his little bro's album. The beat is a little stop start, but it is different from the normal type of hip-hop beats we get. A fairly average tune overall.

The final track is Nayo Pulna, and is sung by Desi Hardcore - a totally new name to me again. In one word this song is pathetic. It samples Dre's X-plosive beat. Dre's album has been out for years, and still it continues to be rinsed for beats by bhangra producers. I dunno what the guys were smoking when they decided to add this mix, but it must have been strong stuff! On the plus side the singing is encouraging, and the actual lyrics of this classic song are good. These points seem so miniscule compared to the problems with the tune - I mean is it even in beat? The intro of the album made a referral to Internet DJ's, and this tune is so bad, I could only attribute it to a very inexperienced so called net DJ. I would like to hear more from this singer, Desi hardcore, but again perhaps he could come out with some of his own lyrics.

Overall, the album is severely let down by the second half. The first half of the album has the potential of a classic, but the way the album ends is awful. It is good to see Sach hasn't used any Bhangarage beats - a positive move in my opinion. The original Hip Hop beats he comes out with also gives some expectation for the future. However, for the Next Of Kin, he only scores a 6.5 out of 10. Would have been much higher had it not been for most of the second half of the album.