I have a long history with Murs, so let me put this album into context for you. I first came across Murs when he released his debut album for Definitive Jux, as did most of us outside of the L.A. area. I liked the album, although it was a little inconsistent, with too many songs and producers. In 2004, Murs got together with producer 9th Wonder, and they dropped 3:16. This album made me sit up and pay attention. It was short but complete. It took on many different moods and subject matters with a great combination of emotional attachment and smart, thoughtful lyrics. He followed this up with Murray’s Revenge, which was put out on a Warner Bros. subsidiary and gave us more of the same, coming with some absolutely killer songs that really made you think, such as “D.S.W.G,” “L.A.,” and “Dreamchaser.”

Unfortunately, the ill-conceived Murs For President was released while Sweet Lord, his third collaboration with 9th Wonder ,was left to be distributed as a free download for fans. Naturally, I was thrilled when I heard that the next Murs album was going to be another collaboration with 9th. Why mess with a winning formula, right?

Well, I wish I could say I love Fornever as much as the first three albums. Unfortunately, it feels like both artists are off their game. The opening title track set the tone with Kurupt overpowering the track with weak rhymes. Lyrically, Murs seems out to prove that he’s still around the way. This is unfortunate, because one of the things I’ve always liked about Murs is that his songs always seemed to depict him as the guy who was proud of being from the ‘hood, but was smart enough not to get weighed down by its trappings. He loved L.A., despite its shortcomings.

On Fornever, it seems like he’s set out to prove he’s not better than anything, rapping about liquor stores, weed, and women. In the past, some of his songs tended to be more sensitive toward women. It really bothers me that the same person who wrote “Dark Skinned White Girls” could write a song as insensitive as “Asian Girl.” The sad part is that it didn’t have to be that way. He drops a line in that song about how Korean food isn’t that different from soul food that’s cool, but then he talks about slant eyes and talking about nipple color that makes me shudder.

Other songs don’t fare much better. “Let Me Talk,” just seems like a tired step back as we get a one-sided argument between a man and a woman. “Vikki Veil,” walks us through how dating an adult film star just made Murs (surprise surprise) jealous and mad. “I Used To Love Her (Again)” is almost a bright spot on the album, as it uses an extended metaphor of a woman as hip hop music, but suffers from some a few sexist lines, and would also ring truer if the rest of the album was stronger. “The Problem Is…” could have been a powerful song if didn’t come across so preachy and have such a horrible R&B hook about hustlin’. “West Coast Cinderella” is a terrible song in concept, and even worse in practice. Is the traditional Cinderella story not sexist and racist enough for you? Listen up!

This definitely isn’t 9th’s best work either. The album lacks any musical moments that make you sit up and pay attention.

My last bone to pick with this album is the guest artists. While previous albums had smart peer emcees like Big Pooh, Phonte, and Joe Scudda, Fornever features terrible spots from Kurupt and Suga Free. Also, as I listen to Sweet Lord again to compare the efforts, I’m saddened by the intro as Murs proclaims that he and 9th are going to make some positive music and how they are working drug free. Fornever doesn’t deliver on these promises. This is by no means the worst album to be released this year, but it terms of what this album could have been, it is by far the most disappointing.