The album cover is a drawing of an EC team member throwing a punch on a red carpet entrance, the back cover shows the cat that got clocked. It’s always a good thing if the cover already implies violence, that way I know I won’t have to deal with 16 songs about how some guy can’t get his girl to perform fellatio on him. It’s doper than the Volume 2 cover but not as dope as the one for Vol. 1

booklet: 6 shermheads out of 10 

The booklet is pretty cool: there’s pictures of the artists, a couple of lyrics to verses probably written by Mighty Mi’s mentally challenged little niece going by the spelling errors. You also get all the production credits which is alright I guess, but what’s really lacking is…well the lack of the nekkid *****es, no beaver shots in this booklet.

songs: 8 Rasheed Wallaces out of 10

 

Tame as it ever was – Tame 1

the original Brick City kid does his aggressive rhyming routine over a solid J-Zone beat with a lot of movie and rap samples scratched in the hook. Overall a pretty decent cut, about as good as you’d expect from a Zone and Tame collaboration.

Won’t stop – Copywrite 

Punchlines, punchlines, punchlines…it’s Copy so what did you expect? RJD2 laces him with a keyboard driven backdrop with some Premier like flavor on the chorus. Simplistic but highly effective…”plus your girl looks like a great *****! but that’s only from the face down and the waist up”…vintage shit.

5 left in the clip – Weathermen 

They might just be the most dominant crew in the underground and they showcase why on this track. The beat is centered around a heavy bass drum and a nice little vocal sample. Every member comes off nicely but Breezy Brewin takes the cake with a nice multi-syllable rhyme scheme and lines like “we weather whatever men, y’all wether or not to continue living given you’ll never have sex…with women”

Rumble – High & Mighty 

A standard High & Mighty track, with some strings thrown in the mix giving the track a little operetic feel. All in all it’s a by the numbers track for Mi and Eon. Nothing special bout it

Bart Burnt vs. Sherm Penn – Smut Peddlers 

Mr. Eon once again takes on his Bart Burn persona while Cage plays the part of Sherm Penn. Like the prequal the track deals with how dro can ***** you up. Cage gets props for the “…woke up in Canada stuck eh?” line. If you’re a pothead you’ll probably relate to the track. Above average.

Special Ladies – Cage

The track kicks off with a gully Andrew Dice Clay sample before Cage commences to spitting over a bassline that’s remeniscent of the one on Agent Orange. The song deals with the shady doings of CAgE! and his sexual conquests within the handicapped demographic. The track also reps the once great CageKennylz.com site. Killer track.

Brawl – RA the Ruggedman

Okay, the beat by J-Zone is great albeit predictable and RA comes correct but the problem is RA’s rhymed this white trash jibberish about 20 times already. If you’ve never heard of RA this is as great an introduction as you can possibly get, if you’re aware of his steelo then it’s still enjoyable for the cartoonish zone beat.

Not all there – High & Mighty

High & Mighty fair better their second time out. The track simply bumps and features some witty insights on post 9/11 behaviour alongside some entertaining braggadocia.

Nighthawks – Nighthawks 

The songs starts out with some dialogue from the movie with the same name starring Billy Dee Williams and Sylvester Stallone. Cage and Camu Tao rap about the lifestyle of NYPD’s most infamous over a track that takes you back to the seventies. Why don’t more rappers rhyme about crooked cops in first person? Good shit.

Talk like sex pt. II (original mix) – Smut Peddlers and Kool G Rap

It’s got a more polished production edge to it which makes it less dope than the remix on Porn Again. The lyrics are the same, it’s still a dope cut, not as dope as the remix (which oddly enough was released first) but it’ll do.

Dreamz – Tame 1 

Tame Weezy covers the same turf Big Daddy Kane did on Vol. II, rhyming about how life would be if everything was just perfect. The vocal sample on the hook brings it all together. Great feelgood track, “while you were influenced by the underground I was on the ground under the influence”.

Jeah – Copywrite 

Mighty Mi laces Copy with a nice beat on some melancholic type shit. Copy sticks to the script and spits some more punchlines. The hook is once again on some shades of DJ Premier vibe.

Gut you – Weathermen 

The beat is pretty pedestrian and doesn’t allow the featured weathermen to shine like they should. It’s still a dope track but nowhere near as good as 5 left in the clip. Lots of violent threats though, that’s a good thing.

Ballad of worms – Cage

I don’t say it often but…classic. This joint is a flat-out classic. The strings, the guitar flourishes, the great vocal sample and Cage’s heartfelt ballad. Supposedly this shit was about the state of hip-hop, personally I don’t hear it but regardless it’s an outstanding track.

And 1 – High & Mighty

Eon rhymes about his favorite subject, basketball fanticism. Taking it back to the golden era of the NBA to the current league. The beat has a ‘blaxploitation on speed’ feel to it. Good showing.

Last hit (original mix) – High & Mighty and Eminem 

Again, the version of the song released earlier on Home Field Advantage is better than this one. The lyrics also stay the same but taken on it’s own terms it’s still a dope track. Eminem shows why he was considered one of the underground’s finest back in the day with a great punchline orientated rhyme. A couple of internet references are just icing on the cake.

 

bottom line: If you haven’t copped this joint by now you probably never will but it’s a solid compilation front to back that showcased EC’s championship potential back in the days of old. It might just be the best installment of the series so far and will definitely hold you down during those hour long drives. If this is the first time you’ve heard about the album you already slept on it so wake up dunny