This is thug filmmaking at its best courtesy of Damon Dash and his Roc-A-Fella crew, with Dash directing, writing, and co-starring as a "cakeaholic" (money addict) on the quest for international greatness in the Philadelphia drug-dealing biz. Beans (Beanie Sigel) is his main competition, but he's in jail for crimes perpetrated in the first film (ironically, Sigel himself went to jail for gun-related offences after shooting of the film was completed). Fellow inmate Loco (N.O.R.E.) promises to get Beans sprung and hook him up with some "kingpin paper" and a "sweet connect." Viewers who don't know this means money and a drug supplier may be a bit baffled by the film's Philly slang-enriched dialogue, but Beans' narration fills in a lot of the gaps. Another plus, there is a plethora of guest stars like Kayne West, Freeway, Mariah Carey, Sade, Ole Dirty Bastard, and Jimmy "Handyman" Jones. A fast-paced, violent, and simultaneously funny film, this is better than the first, with the improvisatory feeling of a low-budget 1970s blaxploitation classic crossed with a guest-star-packed hip-hop party record. It's got loads of cinematic style with freeze frames, split screens, and nods to gangster classics like SCARFACE (1983), GOODFELLAS (1990), SNATCH (2000), and CITY OF GOD (2002). Foxy Roselyn Sanchez is the D.A. who sends Beans up the river; while ex-boxer Michael Bentt is good as Loco's no-nonsense mentor.