Three albums might be a little early for a comeback, but Cassidy is positioned to make good on a series of bad circumstances. His eight-month manslaughter incarceration in 2005-06 and a subsequent car accident put the crimp on 2005's "I'm a Hustla." But "B.A.R.S." finds him fit and focused with a revised worldview that's not unlike the faith-restoring turn Kanye West took after his own auto mishap. Cassidy is lucky to be alive and free—and knows it, thanking the heavens on such tracks as "I Pray," "Leanin' on the Lord" and the Latin-flavored "Celebrate." His Da Hustla alter ego manages to get some pointed disses into the proceedings, while the single "My Drink N' My 2 Step" has club hit written all over it. But it's telling that Barry beats Da Hustla in the opening "Intro" face-off, while the rest of the album voices relatively high-minded ideals.—Gary Graff