I think that the first three albums were good overall, but this one was just plain sloppy. There are few songs that I actually like and lyrically I think 50 Cent had the best verse on the whole CD, which is disappointing. It seems like Em really didn't give a fuck when he made this album, especially when the bonus CD had three tracks that could've made Encore better. I hope that his lyrics in Encore/Curtains Down and the ending is a metaphor for killing off his mainstream self and he goes back to what made Dre sign him in the first place. Like too many Nasty Nas hopefuls though, I think it'll never happen.