I loved this album so much when I was a kid. More than any other hip hop at the time, It Takes A Thief was my favorite cassette tape next to Gwar's Hell-O. It was so disassociative compared to the real-life violence that became synonymous with hip hop. I was actually scared to listen to Biggie or Tupac in my neighborhood in the same way parents were scared that Nirvana would lead their children to suicide attempts. Coolio was kind of Switzerland.