I can’t even front , whoever wrote that description on the Bandcamp link for this album is a WAY better writer than me. Holy shit, I’ve never felt riveted from a Bandcamp paragraph before! Shoutout to whoever wrote that shit!
Now, onto the album. After reviewing the single for this project, it got me hyped! Mainly because it’s still fresh in my mind the last album by this man and how well that went, so I had nothing but high hopes for this one and it turns out my excitement was NOT in vain! Let’s talk about why!
This is the band’s new project by super producer Ill Clinton! As he did with his last drop, he comes equipped with insane lyrical soldiers such as
-Elucid
-Phiik
-Lungs
-Vincent The Owl
-Spit Gemz
-Reef The Lost Cause
-Fastlife
-Chubs
-Snotty
-Hus Kingpin
-Dusty Reynolds
-Grim Moses
-Eff Yoo
-LordWilln
-Words
-Mo Rukuz
And Cuts from the likes of -Tone Spliff & -CutSpreme
If this isn’t a SUPREME list then I don’t know what is and leading that army is Ill himself with a wide array of wounds and influences that not only improve in every single way from the previous joint but portray a cinematic and surreal atmosphere that will no doubt leave the audience speechless.
When I was listening to this record I felt like my jaw was on the floor due to the production, this is some heavy film score type shit! There are so many examples of sonic brilliance on this album that it feels unfair to only handpick a few but I’m going to play
(DEVILS ADVOCATE) and pick the most dominant 3 in my opinion.
- -Preposterous this is one of those Jazz Fusion beats that I naturally will stan for. This beat has this prominent Jazz horn loop that feels so fucking intimate and gorgeous that it gave me goosebumps!
On top of that we have these rhythmic drum patterns as well as these swaying strings in the background accompanied by some glistening piano keys that are ever so subtly satisfying in the background!
Of course, we can’t ignore the legendary Tone Spliff on the cuts doing his thing, turning this track from a 10x to a 1000x.
Also, these two men (Spit Gemz and Reef) absolutely destroy this track with their incredible performances that went far beyond any expectations I had for them both!
- Spilotro, man, this track is one of those ‘you can’t fuck with’ type energy songs that had me mean-mugging IMMEDIATELY! This track features these plucked bass strings that close the loop off with these massively loud organ chords topped at the end!
Not to mention you have more heavy drums and some infectious electric guitar strings that move ever so subtly in the background, proving the ever-so-important skeleton to the whole track and turning this into a track with 90s-reminiscent of raw and minimalistic vibes that rock you even harder than any fancy, overly layered track could!
And MY GOD, THOSE FUCKING FEATURES, Lord save me, CHUBS & SNOTTY? In paying homage to the Sopranos’ ‘GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE’, that’s insane! When I saw that combo on the track list, I wanted to shout in happiness (but I was at work). These two are some of my favourites in the underground, and now you’re telling me they are on the same track? It went exactly as I expected it to, PERFECT! We need a collab album IMMEDIATELY!
And track 3 for me has to go to -Cold Soul. OH MY GOD, everything about this track has me hyped like no one’s business! We gotta talk about this shit.
Firstly, that beat? It’s chilling, cold, unforgiving, everything! It’s got what sounds like a manipulated synth chords with an evil twist, accompaniment by disgustingly heavy bass. All this comes together to one of the more minimalistic cuts, but considering who this is made for, it can’t get any more better of a sonic representation!
It’s my main man MO RUKUZ! This guy has been THAT GUY for me for about 3 years now when I discovered him, and he’s been on my radar permanently since!
He brings a level of grime that really no one else can match! He’s relentless with it! He sounds like an evil super villain every time he’s on the track his super low voice and his detailed violent verses never sees to amaze me and he nailed this beat as amazingly as I expected him too!
Those are the 3 that stood out to me most but that can’t take away from the other KILLER MC’s and beats that were hand picked for a reason. I wasn’t kidding when I said this line up is some of the best spitters the underground has right now and all under one roof is insane!
You’ve got a whole mass of different and fresh personalities and styles coming together under one vision!
You’ve got a variety of egos and auras to match the various songs and instrumentals provided all in the purpose of maintaining one of the dopest collective projects we could have hoped for! Ill has a sixth sense way of predicting who will suit what project, he’s a rare type of MC curator where he can somehow manage a list of names and make them spit their best work under his production and to me that’s a gift!
Please, I advise everyone to check out his album! It’s guaranteed to feature your favourite rapper at least once and the production is improved in intensity and depth across this new album! Go support the man and peep below!
https://usnatives.bandcamp.com/album/gun-powder-cologne
The Serpent Tongue Reviews 