MJG’s first solo album should be considered alongside OutKast’s ATLiens and UGK’s Ridin’ Dirty, similarly-minded classics from the same era. Like those canonical works, No More Glory incorporates a brand of low-key funk that is as rich as it is deep. In “What Is This” MJG poses the question: “I'm flabbergasted, am I the only rapper not afraid / To come with what I feel in my heart and get paid?” Southern rap was still a much-maligned genre in 1997, but this album is not only heartfelt and mindful — it’s truly musical. “Slippin’,” “Pimpin’ Ain’t Easy” and “Black Mac Is Back” show that MJG (and producer T-Mix) have absorbed the lessons of Curtis Mayfield, the Isleys and their other soul forefathers. MJG raps like a man whose morals are tested by demons on the daily. Hip-hop’s picture of a "conscious” rapper is Common or Mos Def, but MJG embodies determination, integrity, and conviction.