Platinum superstar Chamillionaire is back with his highly anticipated sophomore LP Ultimate Victory! Chamillionaire’s rise from Houston underground rap pioneer to award-winning, mainstream music luminary was again affirmed earlier this year when the prolific artist was nominated for two Grammy Awards, garnering nods in the Best Rap Song category and for Best Rap Performance By Duo or Group for the hit single Ridin’, featuring Krayzie Bone. The album is a winning embrace of hip-hop with commentaries on beefs, nostalgic pining for better days, and a positive outlook for the future of the genre. Beef is shown the door, cussing is absent, and yet somehow Cham comes off as more Scarface than Mase. Part of this is due to Ultimate Victory's allegiance to verse-filled hip-hop and its unwillingness to repeat "Ridin" for a quick buck. ULTIMATE VICTORY is a compelling listen from start to finish. Beats come courtesy of Jonathan Rothem, Happy Perez, the Beat Bullies, the Runners, Kane Beatz, Dave M.G., and Play-N-Skillz, and Chops. Lil Wayne, Bun B, Krayzie Bone, Pimp C, Devin the Dude, and Slick Rick make up the guest-list. Fueled by a fresh batch of outrage, Cham focuses on politics and the darker side of success--screaming on underhanded gold diggers ("Industry Groupie") and shady former friends ("The Bill Collecta"); lamenting the rap industry's pervasive materialism ("I Think I Love You"); attacking a racist media culture in general and Bill O'Reilly in particular ("The Morning News," "The Evening News"); and examining a different kind of police profiling ("Hip Hop Police").