Just in case you haven’t been clued in to rap’s Industrial Average, the industry is a business, first and foremost. To get to the top of the ranks, you have to be somewhat keen of managing your monetary support on both the front and back ends. As a widely recognized hustler going on his third decade, Mack 10 is still a business-minded executive when it comes to running his Hoo-Bangin’ imprint and his latest venture with his flagship artist, Glasses Malone, looks to break the bank in Twenty Eleven. Money Music is their game and their aim is a point blank hollow tip bullet.

While the album title’s obvious implications are represented well (“Money Drunk,” “Winnin’”), Mack & Malone still have a few exploits of 211′s and 187′s to keep themselves visible on the LAPD’s radar. Glasses hits the hardest with his ode to retaliation in “Everybody Gotta Go,” a scenic kidnapper’s narrative which even features the family dog getting his death certificate stamped. The combination of his husky vocals and somber tone in his delivery allows the track to bleed with authentic reporting. As a duo, Mack & Malone aren’t oblivious to the other side of obtaining currency, as they testify “flipped the script/cold ending to a nigga’s movie,” detailing the incarcerated hustler’s bottom bitch over a lush melody for “Until The Feds Came.” The album’s score maintains a modest sequencing with relatively unknown producers such as Fingazz, Neff-U and King Dave holding the wheel for all of the drive-by.

Like salt to sugar, Mack & Malone’s straight-laced approach is their conjoining gift and curse. Demanding that a couple of gangsta MCs add a new element to the periodic table would be a bit of a stretch, but Money Music forces listeners to expect the expected on routine. “Dear DEA” and “Lover Letter” is to drugs and dames, respectively like roses are red and violets are blue, while “Got It Like That” is a feel-good summer jam that will probably garner respect on the local level, but doesn’t pack enough variation to transcend a coast or two.

It’s nothing you haven’t heard before, but Money Music still shows there’s earnest opportunities in straightforward gangsterisms. Rappers attempting to cash in without selling out will always be good for their credit.