Personnel includes: Pastor Troy, Timbaland, Ms. Jade, Bun B., Blackout, Pinhead, Peter The Disciple.
Pastor Troy's follow-up to 2001's FACE OFF continues his themes of Dirty South living and loving. He's a more thoughtful rapper than some, and doesn't confine himself strictly to these themes, of course. Cuts such as "If I Wasn't Rapping" (of course he'd still be living the life he loves) and "I'm A Raise Me a Soldier" show a deeper-than-usual sensibility and consciousness. The Timbaland-featured "Tell 'Em It's On" is gargantuan rolling funk, while the Latin-inflected "You Can't Pimp Me" ("I'm 'a pimp myself") is the defiant cry of a full-time survivor who's taking control of his own life.
UNIVERSAL SOLDIER further cements Troy's reputation as one of the deeper exponents of the Dirty South sound with its brooding synth backdrops, skittering beatboxes and slow, menacing vocals. Troy's preoccupations remain family, violence, and social commentary, and here these themes coalesce into a seamless whole.