by Nathan RabinIt became commonplace during the mid- to late '90s for rappers to litter their albums with a small nation's worth of guest stars, both for commercial purposes and for all-important sonic variety. At its worst, this tactic can lead to albums where the ostensible star ends up sounding like a guest at their own party. But at its best, the more-the-merrier formula can result in stellar albums like Mack 10's The Recipe, an unambitious but enormously satisfying slice of pop-savvy late-'90s gangsta rap that features a slew of the hottest names in hip-hop, from Eazy E to Master P to ODB and many, many more. Mack 10 got his big break from mentor\u002Fgangsta rap pioneer Ice Cube, who not surprisingly lends his gruff presence to two of the album's standout tracks: Should I Stay or Should I Go, a borderline sacrilegious but effective reworking of the Clash classic, and Ghetto Horror Show, a similarly cheesy but enjoyable slice of gangsta rap gothic featuring a scene-stealing turn by the underrated Jayo Felony. Snoop Dogg trades verses with the laconic but authoritative Mack 10 on another of the album's highlights, LBC and the ING, driven by a familiar but undeniably infectious sample of Heartbeat, one of the greatest and most-used loops in the history of hip-hop. Money's Just a Touch Away, the album's Gerald Levert-assisted first single, is a too-slick attempt at radio-friendly crossover success, but Mack 10's sole solo showcase, The Letter, is a surprisingly eloquent and well-reasoned defense of gangsta rap. The Recipe probably won't convert many non-believers, but for fans of straightforward, late-'90s gangsta rap, it's about as good as it gets.