My Gut Reaction: Contribution X - Cobra of The North (2008)

From what I gather from his official website, Contribution X (John Flocken Jr. if you're nasty) is out to prove that there are, in fact, other rappers from Long Beach, California that aren't named Snoop Dogg. Cobra Of The North is actually his third album, but the first one that I've ever heard of his, and it hasn't even been officially distributed yet: Contra and his crew, the 8th Platoon, have moved units the old-fashioned way (free with the purchase of any car trunk!), and are looking for a nationwide distribution deal as we speak.

I may be in the minority here, but I had never heard of Contribution X until someone threw up an album of his on the old Ultimate Wu blog that no longer exists. Given that the purpose of that blog was to post Wu-Tang material, I erroneously thought that Contra was somehow affiliated with my favorite rap group of all time: hell, Gza/Genius even provided a beat for his second album, I believe. But then again, Ultimate Wu, while it was great for its time, started throwing up albums by artists people believed should have been part of the Wu (like Redman, for some odd reason), so I was back to square one, until I came across Contra's official website.

Contribution X's music, which is as far removed from G-Funk as you can get (even though there is a special guest from Snoop's crew that appears on here - more on that below), won him a legion of underground fans, and a chance meeting with Wu-Tang affiliate Beretta 9 led him to link up with many members of the Wu, which is why there are an awful lot of West Coast Killa Beez appearing on Cobra Of The North, a tactic which failed miserably when The Rza himself relied on them heavily for that crappy Digi Snacks album, but (fingers crossed!) may work on here.

Let's take a listen, shall we?

1. INTRO
The great thing is, I just recently saw The Prophecy for the first time (that flick is actually pretty good, by the way), and I wondered why I hadn't heard this dialogue on a rap record before. I figured Killah Priest would be the first one to use it, though.

2. GUN (FEAT HOLOCAUST)
For folks like myself that haven't had the opportunity to listen to a Contribution X record yet, a fair warning: Cobra of The North's first emcee is actually Holocaust, formerly of the Black Knights. Holocaust and Contra play off of each other well, though: hearing Contra's flow for the first time, the Wu-Tang comparisons actually make sense. The beat, by Devious, also sets the mood in a most effective manner: this shit is dark, in a good way.

3. KILLING FIELDS (FEAT BERETTA 9, RBX, & HAILOE)
The beat (provided by the artist himself) is a bit too busy for my liking. For those of you that pay attention, yes, that is the same RBX from Dr. Dre's The Chronic and Snoop's Doggystyle, and maybe fifteen years ago I would have looked forward to his verse. Huh.

4. PEE-ON'S (FEAT DJ GLOSS)
Although Contra sounds a little too much like Holocaust on this track, and the hook is blah, the simple beat stays the hell out of the way of Contra's wrath, and the results are enjoyable.

5. 8TH PLATOON (FEAT DEVIOUS & SK)
This posse cut, the one with Contra's actual posse (there are an awful lot of guest features on Cobra Of The North, aren't there?), is kind of boring. Oh well.

6. SKIT 1 (FEAT DJ GLOSS)
More of an "interlude" than a "skit", if you want to get technical. The underlying beat is dope as shit, though: it makes you wish that someone would just start rhyming.

7. YOU CAN COME (FEAT BIG EYES, SUPA, MONK, & PIMP)
Contra's beat for this track is fucking bananas, but that hook is some of the lamest shit I've heard in the past hour. It would be best if you ignored the chorus completely.

8. ROBOT TANKS (FEAT HOLOCAUST)
The collaboration so nice, they did it twice. Contra comes off as the long-lost seventh member of Killarmy (a classification that I realize I already used for Holocaust himself when I wrote about Dirty Weaponry, but I don't care), and I mean that in a good way. (He's certainly much more interesting to listen to than Dom Pachino and 9th Prince.) It's hilarious that Holocaust, of all people, makes it a point to reference Gza's advice of keeping your verses "half short, twice strong" (from the Wu's "As High As Wu-Tang Get") when his own verses are as long as L.D. Grobman's The Cure For Insomnia, which is supposed to be the longest movie ever made, and since I had to explain my joke, it's no longer funny, so I'll move on.

9. MY MINDS (FEAT HAILOE, SLEX, & SNAIRE)
Hailoe (or Hailoe One, depending on where I do my research) provides a simple drum beat with some keys and some indistinct horns, creating one hell of a chilled-out beat, one that I could see myself playing in my car while driving around downtown at night. I don't remember any of the lyrics on here, though.

10. IRON HANDS (FEAT RBX, MONK, & DJ GLOSS)
You know which RBX verse I really liked? The one from Dr. Dre's "Stranded On Death Row". The one that's on here isn't on that level at all. I find myself surprised by Monk, though, especially after Digi Snacks. Contra's flow is starting to grow on me, and other than the first verse, this song sounds pretty hot, even if its title would be better suited for a collaboration between Ghostface Killah and Timbaland's apprentice Danja.

11. SKIT 2
Some more Prophecy for your ass. You may want to avoid its direct-to-video sequels, though, regardless of the participation from The Walken.

12. WE HERE NOW (FEAT MONK, BIG EYES, & CRISIS)
If MTV suddenly decided to executive-produce a series of film remakes based on Sergio Leone's brilliant spaghetti westerns, this instrumental would probably play during the opening credits.

13. YOU MAY KNOW ME (FEAT BERETTA 9, SLEX, & DJ GLOSS)
Meh.

14. LET ME GUESS (FEAT SNAIRE & SLEX)
The whistling incorporated in to the beat take me to a land where O.C.'s "My World" seems to be played on an endless loop. It made me kind of wish that O.C. would suddenly magically appear, but alas, he does not.

15. CODE OF THE STREET (FEAT DEVIOUS & CHRIST APOSTLE)
Sadly, not a cover of the Gangstarr classic, but this song still fucking rocks.

16. BOUNCE WITH ME (FEAT CRISIS, MONK, ND, SUPA, PIMP 1, & PIMP 2)
My favorite thing about this song is that the song credits provided to me imply that two separate rappers named Pimp 1 and Pimp 2 round things out. I just have an image of Thing 1 and Thing 2 running wild in the studio, which isn't very age-appropriate for this song, which is pretty entertaining otherwise. Contra seems to have a knack for outrapping his guests, regardless of their rhyme caliber.

17. COBRA OF THE NORTH
I didn't care for this song at all.

18. NOBODY MOVE (FEAT BOMSHOT, RASUL ALLAH, & CHRIST APOSTLE)
Rasul Allah is from a rap crew called the Lost Children of Babylon, yet another group that seems to have some sort of tie to the Wu. I think when the history books are written, it'll be readily apparent that the Wu-Tang Clan contributed the most spinoff artists in the lifetime of the genre. In some cases, that's not a very nice thing to say (*cough* Cappadonna *cough*), but this song is interesting enough.

19. BUILD (FEAT KILLAH PRIEST, MONK, & CHRIST APOSTLE)
Killah Priest, easily the biggest name to appear on Cobra Of The North, actually falters over this fast-paced beat, but every other rapper sounds game. The weird sound bites and effects toward the end are the primary reason that I stopped listening to Killarmy, though.

20. SOME SAY (FEAT RBX & MONK)
Kind of long, and RBX adds absolutely nothing to the proceedings (at this point, his presence has grown tiresome, not unlike his appearances on the Death Row albums of old), but it still sounds decent. And Monk proves that he can sound like a decent rapper when given a good beat to spit to.

21. OUTRO
And...scene.

THE LAST WORD: Cobra Of The North is actually pretty interesting, but I will tell my two readers up front that it isn't for everybody. Those that look forward to hearing club bangers created to get chicks to shake their asses will be severely disappointed (although if you find a hottie that will dance to Contribution X, you should never let her go). And if you're not a Wu-Tang Clan fan, then you've already moved on to the next review. If you appreciate underground hip hop that wears its influences on its sleeve, though, you may enjoy this, since it sounds good, in a Dirty Weaponry kind of way. The beats, especially the contributions (heh) of Devious, are also pretty engaging: it's the antithesis to The Rza's more recent over-produced, over-sleek output. There are an awful lot of guest appearances on here, though: most of the cameos will make you wish that Contra kept the mic to himself, especially as this is still supposed to be a solo album. Still, though, good show: I may have to find Contribution X's older albums now.

-Max