While some debate whether you can have too much of a good thing, no one can argue that you can definitely have too much of the same thing. Veteran rap group The CUF was originally formed in 1993, which has allowed for plenty of time to find the group’s niche, or musical comfort zone. Eighteen years later, The CUF promises its latest release, CUF Caviar Vol. 1, to be its most dynamic to date — an assertion that is most definitely up for debate.

CUF Caviar Vol. 1 is the fourth album from The CUF, short for California Underground Funk. This five-man hip hop crew — composed of MCs N8 the Gr8, Pete, Crush, Brotha RJ, and Taktics (Lil N8) — is based out of Sacramento, CA.

The album starts out promisingly enough: “How We Get Down” establishes an old-school vibe for the seasoned quintet. “Flame Lit,” as mentioned in the album’s digital liner notes, is “a song that speaks to how they are still doing what they’ve always done, which is make quality music.”

CUF Caviar Vol. 1 continues with the same general, mellow hip hop beats and seemingly-witty-but-actually-quite-simple lyrics and flow. “Don’t Ask No ?’s” breaks out the T-Pain auto-tune app for the chorus — about four years late by today’s pop culture standards.

Having said that, the album is not bad; it’s just not amazing. That seems to be okay with The CUF, though. The aforementioned digital liner notes add that the last track, “More,” sums up the album’s theme: “We never made cuts to be famous,” MC Pete said. “All we ever wanted to do was rap in different places!”

The tracks that stood out most to me include “I’m Too Much” for its staggering, tripping bass line and upped-ante rhymes; and “Tragic” because it’s slightly more bouncy, beat-wise, and definitely more sassy lyrically (“You reap what you sow up / don’t let your mouth get you tow up or shown up…”). “Larry Lay” is kind of funny, but only when the title of the song is mentioned.

Find The CUF on Facebook. CUF Caviar Vol. 1 is available today on Bandcamp.