There will never be a time I see a new release by this man and not get hyped. He’s a man who’s built a reputation on tough, grimy raps that have put a chokehold on the underground, and with this new tape consisting of tracks (old and new), we hear once again why he has one of the biggest bullseyes on his back! Let’s talk about it!
It’s always insane to hear AYOO rap. He’s one of those cats, scratch that. One of those LIONS that compels every bone and atom in your body to shift and stir at the sound of his voice. He’s not just raw; he’s god damn atrophy incarnated! He’s Hip Hop’s Goliath, and he ain’t here to fulfil no bullshit fairy tales either. Try to step to him with a fucking rock and a sling, and that’s the last you’ll ever do!
This man makes music to get violent to! Music to access your inner rage and take it out on the world! He’s utilising his inner strength, his overcoming of pure hell and struggle, to showcase his overwhelming verbal strength to the point of overkill.
Upon every single song, he uses his bars like sledgehammers! Each breath makes the ground shake, and each scribble of his pen ensures another fake contender gets knocked the fuck out with his rhymes! He never just ‘raps’; he ‘manifests’ the spirit of vengeance across the album and forces the listener to stay glued to the headphones until his very last word is pronounced!
Although it’s not easy, he did find a handful of MC’s to wreck shop with, such as
-REEF HUSTLE
-KING GEORGE
-PETE TOWERZ
-TERROR VAN POO
-DANIEL SON
-MONDO SLADE
-LOE BADGETT
-SAUCE YIN
And these men don’t just accompany AYOO; they share the same sadistic malice as he does on the beats! Each man has the goal of massacre and slaughter using their verbal swords, causing similar carnage wherever they go, and they make for a very effective collective for AYOO to go to war alongside!
This might all sound incredibly dramatic of me to describe AYOO (and company) this way, but anyone who thinks that hasn’t heard his music. He doesn’t rap as much as he pushes his wordplay and flow forcefully across the music in such a harsh and brash way that you can’t help but mean-mug every word he says! On top of the fact that behind all that intensity, he is an incredible lyricist and MC! So it’s a pairing made in hell, one where he rules!
As far as the production is concerned, we also have a few names accompanying this slot, such as:
-Alcatraz Ed
-Navi The North
-Johnny Slash
-Tone Mason
-Nar
-Vinny Idol
-Raminbeatz
-King Bandalero
-Fendi Pendergrass
(As well as cuts from Tone Spliff)
And as is expected from anything AYOO chooses to lay his vocals on, these beats are equally HARD AS FUCK! We are talking about some of the most impactful and underrated producers we have going right now (as well as the legendary Tone) providing the cuts. How can you assume this can be anything but golden? News flash, it’s exactly that!
As this album goes on, we hear some incredible beats, such as my personal favourites in:
-Black Mask, which has this incredible haunting/boom bap experience to it! You’ve got those dark and eerie piano keys that are filled with some sharp synth horror movie-style chords, methodical drums, and heavy plucked bass! An absolute monstrosity of a track!
Or we can look at the track -Powerful Impact, which starts with this spoken word snippet that evolves into this absolutely filthy late 80’s/early 90’s East Coast vibe track! You’ve got those shotgun-style drums, sticky piano keys, and what sounds like a crisp and sharp violin sample going off into the background!
I also love the chorus on this track! A homage paid to, I believe, a Busta Rhymes verse but deeper and distorted! Absolutely brutal and infectious as hell!
These are just two of 13 tracks that I don’t want to spoil for you but are equally as ferocious and deadly that will leave you out of breath if you ain’t careful! The production and the minds involved are gutter, raw, atmospheric and overall filled with masterful techniques as expected by the names involved!
The Serpent Tongue Reviews 