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Music is an element the world has never had to live without. Which is why Lyrikal Etherians, have already established themselves as boundery breakers, having already built a house for Hip-Hopera on their 2001 debut, "Immortality." Which brings us the reason for introduction to L.E.'s sophomore effort, "L.E. Mental." With it's Box Office Movie-like theme, this can be considered renaissance material for old and new hip hop lovers alike. A far cry from its underground-friendly predecessor, it is evident that "L.E. Mental" has gone through a huge makeover and has been fine tuned for a wider audience. While Mitch Ill Blaze - formerly know as LMSA - and Full Eklypse are still very present, the departure of group member, Kryo, and the addition of newcomer, MC/Producer/DJ, Averi Minor, L.E. went through a major overhaul since the first album even by name. Now know as "The Group L.E." and equipped with fine selections of lyricism over diverse yet soulful soundtracks to compliment them, this album includes topics that range from the essence of the woman to the effects of racism and black on black crime on African-Americans. The production is a lot more ear friendly this time around given that more producers contributed to this opus, even group member Averi Minor, who produced the album's groovy-acoustic guitar-driven, first single, "Let's Ride", which features new R&B vocalist, Taj C. The album starts off with the uplifting, "Chi-Town Anthem." Produced by DeanTaz, this song sets the tone for the humble beginning of a good relationship between Chicago and the music industry. Followed by the sultry ladies anthems, "That's Sexy" and the title track "L.E. Mental" it is already evident L.E. aims to please. Conscious tracks like "Life Flows On" and "Nothing But the B.S." also hold their own but an L.E. album wouldn't be right with out grimey material from it's veterans and dramatic production from Marc Gee. While Mitch Ill Blaze's fiery solo, "Count Your Blessings" equals the intensity of Full Eklypse's solo, "BallKrusher", its their collaboration with the feisty Tom Slyck on "Sorpranos", the reminds hip hop heads that men who love the ladies can be grimey too. What's an album today without the essential club tracks. "Thirstay" is a song which addresses the ladies that hustle men in the club for free drinks and "Hey" is just a get-up-out-of-your seat banger that is sure to get club heads on the floor. L.E. even took time to smooth things out with the Flamond Brown-produced stepper's anthem, "Step 2 This." People from all walks of life are sure to appreciate this album. It is sure to be a classic.