Imagine being best friends with a hip-hop icon: attending concerts around the world, making cameos in music videos, hanging out with backstage groupies. Pretty cool, huh? Well, not if you’re an aspiring rapper.

While rap greats like Biggie, Nas, and Jay-Z have made musical history scoring platinum plaques and pop accolades, their up-and-coming artists -- Junior MAFIA, the Bravehearts, and Memphis Bleek -- never managed to break out of their mentor’s shadow. Sure, the high-profile affiliation is quite a blessing, but the pressure to follow in a legend’s shoes is one helluva curse.

The Outlawz had its own staggering bout with nepotism. Crew founder Tupac Shakur passed away nearly a decade ago (can you believe it?), and coincidentally for some they’ll forever be referred to as that-crew-that-rolled-with-Makaveli-back-in-the-day. But even after witnessing the death of Pac and Yaki Khadafi, and later the departure of core members Fatal and Napoleon, the dwindling group still managed to keep its heads up all of these years.

The truth is, the Outlawz is one of the most underrated groups in hip-hop. Simply put, they make solid songs -- not remarkable, but memorable nonetheless. So when I heard about their latest project, Against All Oddz, I anticipated some good tunes. And I wasn’t disappointed.

“Leave In The Past” is the best use of a sped-up sample since Kanye West’s fender-bender anthem “Through The Wire” -- you know, before every two-bit producer jumped on the soul bandwagon. In this case, beat maker and rhymer EDI does the hackneyed technique justice by adding a somber drum loop to the singer’s chipmunk shrills. “Outlaw riders putting the past behind,” rhymes a headstrong Young Noble.

Meanwhile, the Dave Hollis-produced “Same Thang” is a jovial gem -- finger-snapping rim shots, filtered horns, and a pulsating bass line. The Outlawz ride the summer-friendly ditty providing some keep-your-head-up optimism: “Let’s see what kinda joy does the pain bring (it’s not a game) / Real niggas do real thangs (deep in the game) / We’re all struggling, don’t be ashamed / We’re all Black and all going through the same thang.” Not exactly earth-shattering, but the sincerity is felt.

Hollis delivers once again on the ethereal-sounding “Make You Happy,” as Noble and EDI pen a poignant ode to their loved ones. But an Outlawz album would be incomplete without a raunchy club banger, and “I Wanna Know” is just that. The romantic harp loop contrasts sharply with EDI’s rather brash wordplay: “Now get your ass up on the flo’ / If you a good clean girl or a nasty ho’ / It don’t matter, skip all the chit-chatter / Don’t tell me you ain’t cutting, girl, ya’ ass getting fatter.”

There are a few songs that are less than impressive – for example, the synth heavy “Don’t Change” – but overall Against All Oddz makes for perfect riding music. Like their thugged out predecessor, Outlawz’ lyrics are nothing too complex; just an unconditional message of Black struggle mixed with some party-and-bullshit every so often. And while they do lack Pac’s enthusiastic energy, their low-key vocals compliment rather than dominate the soundscape.

How many rap groups could withstand the passing of its superstar founder, bid farewell to several members, and face a sudden recording hiatus, only to emerge as indie artists and maintain a dependable fan base for over a decade? Like the late Tupac once said, “It’d be a lie, if I told ya’ that I never thought of death / My nigga, we the last ones left … but life goes on.”