Issued in 2009, All World 2 duplicates too much of the material compiled on 1996's All World: Greatest Hits to be a complementary release -- the two releases share four songs -- and it’s missing far too much to be an ideal starting point.

So, what is it? It’s an acceptable starting point if you don’t feel the need to own classics like “I Need a Beat,” “I’m Bad,” “Going Back to Cali,” “The Boomin’ System,” and “Mama Said Knock You Out.” Or, if you already own the first All World and want to look on the bright side, you’ll be getting a disc that adds 13 LL Cool J songs to your collection -- a mixed bag of deep album cuts, minor hits, and major smashes released across the full span of Mr.

Smith’s career.