Story tellers, battle rappers, horror core, glitter core, and rugged in your face Hip Hop, examples of some of the styles that you can find in this vast ocean of MC’s. One of my favourite styles has always been the rugged raw roll up your sleeves do something, what?!?! style. Jedi Minds Tricks does it, Rugged Man does it, M.O.P., Onyx, Flatlinerz, Heltah Skeltah, they all do it.
What is it they do? They grab you by the neck with both hands, and demand you listen to them. Digest every single lyric, beat and message and just try to turn it off, go ahead they dare you. Now I know this kind of Hip Hop is not for every one, but it’s something I have always liked. If for no other reason, because the MCs job at his or her most basic level, is to say something that makes you say “What, ? Daaam”!
Enter the Consortium. The Bloody Monk Consortium. A group that has been putting in work for a minute with the release of a couple E.P.s and now the full length album “Bloodshed”. Be forewarned, listeners should wear headgear, because your head is going to get smacked around by the beats, and the lyrics. Let’s go.
“Call it Watchu Want” opens the album and from the jump you will know what these guys are about. A slow steady thumper with a melodic sample that Leeroy Deestroy and LABAL-S attack with an energy and aggressiveness that Killarmy would be proud of. “Logic Fly” is another example of a track that is reminiscent of something you would have heard on a Flatlinerz album. I don’t mean that as a slight, instead as a compliment. I love tracks that have a creepy sound to them, as it’s hard to balance a track to sound dark without sounding corny, between the production, record scratches, and the MC’s flow this already is a stand out track.
“Cooked Infection” and “Bloodshed” have an urgency in their pace, almost as if the guys are up against the clock to release a knocking track or else they are going to be forced to perform Vanilla Ice covers. These kind of tracks will test even the best sound setups. Hard kicks that you feel in your very core are common place through the entire album.
“Shrinks 3rd Eye” changes the pace up with a slower flow, the guys relax their cords up a bit and ride the beat perfectly. This is a prime contender for a video. This is one of those tracks that show that BMC are more than just a hardcore group trying to shock you, they are in fact trying to show you they can do any rap style, they just don’t want to. But just as that slows you down, “Axe Murder Blood Bros” begins with a song being sung, and a warning about bad folks. The rap Dexter then slows his flow down perfectly to match the beat. As much as I love a good smoothed out track, I love a good hardcore track that is just too dark for most listeners.
“The Mission” and “Dead Speaks” just continue the great hardcore production. Yes at times the lyrics can become a little heavy handed, but the great thing about groups and production like this is they have the ability to force you to listen to the very end, because it’s too infectious.
By the end of the record one thing is clear. These guys came up on Killarmy, Jedi Mind Tricks, Flatlinerz, Geto Boys (Bushwick) and love that Hip Hop that scares the shit out of most listeners. The thing to remember here is that no matter what, the production is top notch. Lex Luger and the rest of the production team deserves a lot of credit here. With an album and name like Bloodshed, Bloody Monks, you better deliver some shovel to the head type of tracks, and he delivers in spades. At the same time Labal and Leeroy have developed their chemistry and style so well that they feed off each other perfectly. When the track calls for a slower pace, they adapt. When the track requires aggression, there they are in your face, ordering you to listen, daring you to not nod you head.
“Wrath of the Gods” then “Exit” close the album out, and they are great tracks to end on. With “Wrath” being one of my favourites on the album. The verse tag team on this track works so well, and they just flow with the beat like a bullet flying through the chamber. Which leads me to the end, and what better way to summarize then to continue with the bullet theme.
These guys are serious, in your face MCs. But you can tell through the crafting of the tracks and arrangement that they are passionate about the music they create. At the end of the day all any fan can ask for is that the group or artist puts everything they can into a project, and it’s evident this album was designed from the ground up, to do one thing, take their aim, release the safety, fire the audio bullets through the chamber, and hit their target with precision, right in your fucking head. A Dead aim always wins.
If you love hardcore Hip Hip in the same style as the groups mentioned at the beginning of this review, then don’t wait, get on I-tunes and buy this cd, the Consortium demands it of you, and now so do I.
Rob
AKA AngriestGamer
