My Gut Reaction: DJ Muggs x Meyhem Lauren x Classic Car Club Manhattan - Members Only (September 6, 2019)

Members Only is the third project in three years from the team of DJ Muggs and Queens-based rapper-slash-television personality-slash-F.O.B. (that’s ‘friend of Bronson’) Meyhem Lauren. It follows 2017’s full-length Gems From the Equinox, which doubled as the prolific Muggerud’s full-time return to the culture after a hiatus of sorts, and the 2018 EP Frozen Angels, which compiled all of the various bonus tracks off of Gems and threw in some other trinkets for the fuck of it.

I feel like I’ve spent a lot of time over the past couple of years talking about DJ Muggs, and there's only so many ways I can keep telling the same story, so we’ll keep these paragraphs brief.

My Gut Reaction: DJ Muggs & Mach-Hommy - Tuez-Les Tous (March 29, 2019)

I feel like I’ve gifted DJ Muggs with quite a bit of virtual real estate ever since his prolific renaissance began back in 2017. I’ve written about every single one of his creative endeavors since then, with the exception of Cypress Hill’s Elephants On Acid (because I’m trying to get through that group in chronological order of their album releases) and Roc Marciano’s KAOS (because things). So forgive me if I choose not to spend much more time diving into the background of the producer born Lawrence Muggerud during today’s piece. I’d much rather discuss his collaborative partner on Tuez-Les Tous, the far more reclusive Mach-Hommy.

My Gut Reaction: DJ Muggs x Eto - Hells Roof (March 1, 2019)

He never really went anywhere, but it certainly seems like we’re witnessing the second coming of Lawrence “DJ Muggs” Muggerud. Since “returning” to the hip hop scene in 2017, he’s had a prolific and entertaining run, releasing projects with Meyhem Lauren (two of them, to be exact), Roc Marciano (ugh), his own group Cypress Hill (Elephants On Acid, which I’ll get around to reviewing eventually, was really fucking good from what I remember after listening to it), and even dropping another entry in his Soul Assassins series. Five albums fully produced by Muggs within a two-year timespan is nothing to laugh at: the man may have spent a significant chunk of this decade focusing on side projects in the realm of trip hop, rock, dubstep (which was an unfortunate detour, but whatever), and offering occasional production to Die Antwoord, but he hasn’t stopped working since Meyhem Lauren’s Gems From the Equinox was announced.

His Vs. series features some of my favorite works from Muggs, as he teams up with various artists to provide them with a soundscape that helps them tell their story, all while challenging himself to adapt his sound with each environment. So far he’s aligned himself with the likes of GZA/Genius, Sick Jacken, Planet Asia, Ill Bill, and the aforementioned Lauren and Roc Marcy, with more promised in the coming months. Having rediscovered his love of hip hop, apparently, he’s also started paying much more attention to fringe artists who haven’t yet broken out of their box, but are deserving of a wider audience. That brings us to the subject of today’s post, Hells Roof, Muggerud’s collaboration with rapper Eto.

My Gut Reaction: DJ Muggs - Soul Assassins: Dia del Asesinato (August 10, 2018)

The Lawrence “DJ Muggs” Muggerud comeback tour continues today on HHID. After squirreling away in the club during his dubstep year, and then retreating to South Africa to record with rap group Die Antwoord under the alias “The Black Goat”, Muggerud returned to his hip hop roots in the fall of 2017 with Gems From The Equinox, a collaborative effort with Queens rapper Meyhem Lauren released and distributed by his own Soul Assassins Records, named after the artist collective he formed during his early days in Cypress Hill. Another DJ Muggs Vs. project with Roc Marciano entitled KAOS was promised, and still is, I’m guessing, but instead of dropping that effort, Muggs opted to unleash the leftover songs from Gems in the form of the vinyl-only Frozen Angels EP (which made Max happy anyway, not just because it contained some great fucking songs, but hey, no Roc Marcy), and this fall, he’s getting back together with Cypress Hill to release Elephants On Acid, the group’s ninth full-length album. So it’s safe to assume his return to hip hop is at least for the long-term, if not permanent.

Before B-Real and Sen Dog get another opportunity to shout into microphones while stoned, however, Muggs has given us Soul Assassins: Dia del Asesinato, the fourth project credited to the Soul Assassins.

My Gut Reaction: DJ Muggs & Meyhem Lauren - Frozen Angels (June 8, 2018)

Last fall, DJ Muggs, a producer who most hip hop heads still associate with his former (and now current again, I think: it’s hard to keep track) group Cypress Hill, made a surprising and triumphant return to his Soul Assassins roots, getting back to the gritty, blunted hip hop he made his name with after an interlude spent producing for South African rap art project Die Antwoord. Teaming up with Meyhem Lauren, a Queens-based rapper best known for both his street smarts and his higher-profile friends (primarily Action Bronson), Muggerud unleashed the newest entry in his DJ Muggs vs. series of album-length collaborations, Gems From The Equinox, which was well-received by most critics (even me! I know, right?) and sufficiently whetted appetites for whatever Muggs had coming up next, while constructing a higher profile for Lauren to loom over his peers with.

My Gut Reaction: DJ Muggs and Meyhem Lauren - Gems From The Equinox (October 27, 2017)

The last review of 2017 goes to a project that came out of nowhere for me (during my "break", I also opted out of paying attention to any promotional e-mails I received, so when I randomly came across info for today's topic online I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised), one that I ultimately enjoyed much more than I thought I would: the return of the DJ Muggs Vs. series of albums, today's post being for his Meyhem Lauren collaboration, Gems From The Equinox.

So you already know how this write-up will end. Click on the link and buy the fucking thing, please. Or keep reading, that's fine.

When Cypress Hill Met Dubstep: Four Gut Reactions Waiting For The Drop

Back in 2012, Cypress Hill were at a crossroads. Having released their last project, Rise Up, two years prior, the founding trio of the group, made up of rappers B-Real and Sen Dog alongside their producer-slash-deejay Muggs (Eric Bobo also counts as a member, but he has nothing to do with today's article), counted themselves as members of a musical genre that none of them felt as comfortable with as they may have before. This was evident when you recall their excursions into rap-rock and reggae, which I'm sure most of us would like to gloss over, but that shit really happened, you can't will it out of existence. So they did what any reasonable rap group might do when faced with career-altering decisions: they went to the club.

My Gut Reaction: DJ Muggs vs. Ill Bill - Kill Devil Hills (August 31, 2010)

DJ Muggs has made the most of his post-Cypress Hill career, alternating between projects credited to his Soul Assassins collective and collaborative albums with some of his favorite artists.  His Vs. series has featured names such as GZA/Genius, Sick Jacken, and Planet Asia, but today we're going to focus on his album with Ill Bill, Kill Devil Hills, because, otherwise, this post wouldn't actually fit into this month's theme, and that would be a problem for me.

Ill Bill Braunstein is a New York rapper, producer, and CEO of Uncle Howie Records, his own vanity label.  His career in our chosen genre has pretty much kept him locked in the underground scene, but he's worked with some of the bigger names in that field, such as his former group Non-Phixion, his current crew La Coka Nostra, as part of the duo Heavy metal Kings (with Vinnie Paz), and his own brother, horrorcore rap aficionado Necro. 

Kill Devil Hills, produced almost exclusively by DJ Muggs (with only a couple of assists, although none of them from Billiam himself), was released in 2010 to general critical acclaim.  It features guest spots from some of the game's bigger names, such as B-Real (of Cypress Hill), Raekwon (of the Wu-Tang Clan), Sean Price, and O.C. (of the Diggin' In The Crates crew), along with some of Muggerund's lesser-known but still accountable affiliates.  Thanks to the production, Kill Devil Hills could be seen as a perfect gateway into the world of Ill Bill, a rapper who hasn't yet found a conspiracy theory that he didn't find some small kernel of truth in.

1.  CULT ASSASSIN

Kill Devil Hills introduces itself the only way it ever could, with Ill Bill's conspiracy theorist character unleashing two verses over some fucking powerful Muggs instrumentation.  This shit is guaranteed to wake any audience up, it knocks that much.  Billiam runs down a list of his issues with the current state of the world today, but at least as of right now, he does so in a manner that doesn't alienate the listener: it's all done very matter-of-fact-ly, as though he didn't even care if you agreed with him at the moment as long as you're listening.  Nice work.

2.  TROUBLE SHOOTERS (FEAT. SICK JACKEN, SEAN PRICE, & O.C.)

It makes sense for frequent Muggs collaborator Sick Jacken (of Psycho Realm fame) to be here, but the other two guest stars on "Trouble Shooters" appear to have won their guest spots in a lottery.  No matter, everyone sounds terrific on here, especially O.C. (where the hell has he been?) and Sean Price, who provides yet another hot verse.  Muggs lends his co-conspirators a simplistic beat, but it's a banger, and everyone takes full advantage of the gift they've been chosen to receive.  I question the song's placement this early in the sequence, though: one would think a track such as "Trouble Shooters" would be buried near the halfway point, so as to force the listener to slog through more of the project in order to reach their reward.  Regardless, this rocked.

3.  PAUL STANLEY

Interlude...

4.  ILLUMINATI 666

Billiam somehow fits two full verses into a song barely two minutes long, and he makes them count, even though his discussion topic of choice, which should be really fucking obvious if you look at the song title again, may alienate all but his most devoted fans and/or Mel Gibson's character in that one movie he was in.  You know the one.  Yes, I'm talking about Chicken Run.  Anyway, Ill Bill wants people to wake the fuck up and pay closer attention to what is going on in the world, and I won't fault him that: it's a valid point and he makes it well.  It's just too bad the Muggs beat (co-produced with G. Rocka) on here fails as a medium for his message, as it sounds as though it was recorded very loudly to mask the fact that it was still incomplete at the time.

5.  AMPUTATED SAINT (FEAT. B-REAL)

I love it when Muggs brings his Cypress Hill bandmate B-Real out to play on his solo projects, as it gives listeners an opportunity to hear him rip some shit over an instrumental that isn't necessarily of the "blunted" variety.  "Amputated Saint" is no exception, as B-Real keeps up with Ill Bill's pace effortlessly over a drum loop that simply knocks.  However, a couple of things hurt the overall effect more than they help.  For one, Billiam repeats four of his bars for no reason immediately after the chorus is complete, which came off more like lazy writing than it did an actual creative decision.  Secondly, the vocal sample played at the end will replace the whale in my nightmares.  No, really, it's creepy as shit.

6.  SKULL & GUNS (FEAT. LA COKA NOSTRA)

I wasn't feeling this song.  The Muggs beat sounds alright enough, but the verses are so lyrically dense that the song is rendered damn near inaccessible (even though Bill mentions during the hook that "we're just talking", that statement doesn't forgive anything).  Billiam's lead-off verse is the best of the bunch, probably because he was smart enough to get the hell out of Dodge before everything goes to shit and the listener loses interest.  His La Coka Nostra bandmates Slaine and Everlast close things out, with Eric's raspy flow capping things in a creeptastic fashion.  "Jump Around" certainly was a long time ago.

7.  GIANTS STADIUM (FEAT. Q-UNIQUE)

Muggs veers into RZA-esque territory with the beat on "Giants Stadium"...and then chops it into oblivion, making it a unique creation all his own.  So the instrumental grabbed me, and Ill Billiam held my interest throughout his verse, which, thankfully, sidesteps the Illuminati talk in favor of straight-up shit-talking.  Guest star Q-Unique, of Arsonists fame, falters a bit, fucking up the flow of the track, but he doesn't sound bad: he just isn't as great a fit for the musical backing.  Makes you wonder what kind of damage someone from the Wu could have done here: is it too late to commission a remix?  Even for a mixtape?  Anyone? Bueller?

8.  THE OWL

Interlude...

9.  MILLENNIUMS OF MURDER

DJ Muggs throws everything he's got at the audience, creating a wall of sound that veers off in many interesting directions.  All Billiam can hope for is a chance to keep up, and he does so admirably, even with an overly-wordy hook that will test the patience of most of you two.  This wasn't terrible, though.

10.  CHASE MANHATTAN (FEAT. RAEKWON)

Kill Devil Hills takes another break from its conspiracy theories to bring you a straightforward narrative, this one focusing on a bank heist starring our host alongside one of the masters of crime rap, Chef Raekwon.  Over a funky, pulsating Muggs loop that is dope as fuck, Billiam and his invited guest describe a robbery in a way that would make Ghostface Killah beam like a proud father.  This shit was nice.  So nice, in fact, that I think someone should start a petition for the next DJ Muggs album to be a collaboration with the Chef.  I don't think anyone will disagree with me on this: it would at least make up for that long-missing in action Inspectah Deck/Muggs album that will never see the light of day.

11.  LUCIFERIAN IMPERIUM

It sure was awfully nice for Billiam to give Muggs (and co-producer DJ Khalil) his own brief instrumental interlude, wasn't it?

12.  ILL BILL TV

Bill's self-aware conspiracy theorist reaches the level of self-parody on "Ill Bill TV", which is so lyrically over the top that the entire thing has to be a goof.  Has to.  Otherwise, I don't think I want to live on this planet anymore.  I don't agree with the decision to release this as a single, since the only audience "Ill Bill TV" will attract is made up of folks who were going to purchase Kill Devil Hills already, but it was okay nonetheless.  The brief instrumental interlude that runs right before the next song was a nice, calm change of pace, too.

13.  SECRETS WORTH DYING FOR (FEAT. CHACE INFINITE)

I thought this song was boring as shit.  So much so that I was tempted to write "meh" before I decided to boost the word count on this overlong write-up.  You're welcome!

14.  2013

Possibly the most paranoid track on Kill Devil Hills, and not just because the hidden powers that be have limited the length of our host's message to less than two minutes.  Billiam's one-verse wonder borders on the hyper-religious psychobabble that I typically can't stand from Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks, and Bill fares no better on here, so no matter how much I enjoyed the Muggs instrumental on here, I can't recommend the track as a whole.  Go ahead, flame in all you want in the comments, say that I just didn't "get" the song, I don't care.  I get it completely.  I just didn't like it.

15.  KILL DEVIL HILLS (FEAT. VINNIE PAZ & B-REAL)

Speaking of Bill's Heavy Metal Kings cohort Vinnie Paz, he pops up on this title track alongside our host and a returning B-Real, who provides the best verse merely because he's simply bullshitting and not going the Illuminati route that Ill Bill regularly uses to drive to work.  Billiam also sounds good, by the way, but their ideologies clash a bit too much for this collaboration to fully click for me.  Ill Bill and Vinnie have more in common, but Paz's contribution isn't very good, not because it's weak, but because it's annoying as shit.  Luckily, the Muggs beat is so fucking hard, it absolves all sins against it.

16.  NARCO CORRIDOS (FEAT. SICK JACKEN & UNCLE HOWIE)

Kill Devil Hills ends the evening on a very high note (no pun intended), with our host and Sick Jacken both giving the listener an idea of how drugs have affected their lives over a dope-as-fuck (still no pun intended) DJ Muggs instrumental that makes you wish that the track continued through eight additional verses.  I loved the contributions from both rappers (especially Bill's admission that, while he doesn't really do any hard drugs anymore, "weed is still a problem"), and I loved the fact that the hook is performed by Jacken in Spanish with no explanation required (well, the fact that the title is also in Spanish probably helps connect the dots).  The bits including recorded dialogue from Bill's Uncle Howie will also break your heart.  An excellent way to cap things off.

THE LAST WORD:  Illuminati talk notwithstanding, Kill Devil Hills is a winner.  DJ Muggs and Ill Bill have teamed up to give listeners sixteen tracks chock-full of paranoia, street tales, braggadocio, and reflection, and they do so without compromising their respective levels of integrity, which was nice.  Bill destroys most of the beats with his aggressive flow that demands to be listened to, even when he's simply bragging about getting his dick sucked in a bank vault by one of the tellers (see: "Chase Manhattan"), and Muggs continues his post-Cypress Hill career (and yes, I realize that the group is still technically together) by providing banging instrumentals that sound like the work of an ever-evolving artists who still seems to think that he has something to prove, even after all of the accolades and gold plaques.  Kill Devil Hills suffers from an over-reliance on guest stars at times, but that's really my only complaint.  This shit was nice.

-Max

RELATED POSTS:

You can catch up on the other DJ Muggs-related projects by clicking here.

My Gut Reaction: Muggs Presents Soul Assassins - Intermission (June 23, 2009)

DJ Muggs and his merry band of Soul Assassins quietly released Intermission, their third album, to an unsuspecting hip hop public earlier this summer. I say "quietly" because, other than on the hip hop blogs, I didn't read about this project on any major media source; hell, I didn't even realize it existed until I saw its album cover appear online.

DJ Muggs formed the loosely-knit Soul Assassins quite some time ago, and their group efforts so far have resulted in critical praise, if not commercial success. The Soul Assassins crew doesn't really consist of anyone in particular: it seems to be made up of Muggerund's close friends, music business associates, and messengers who arrived to drop off packages at the studio and somehow make the album's final cut. Muggs has used these albums (and his Vs. series, so far consisting of collaborations with Gza/Genius, Sick Jacken, and Planet Asia) to exorcise his Cypress Hill demons, and by that, I mean he uses them to prove that he is a much more versatile producer than folks give him credit for. Which is a true fact: the man is talented (and awfully prolific) behind the boards.

Intermission's guest list doesn't contain the big names that its predecessors boasted, but that was probably done purposely, so as not to draw attention away from the production, mostly provided by DJ Khalil and Muggs himself. As to why this isn't simply called Soul Assassins III, the Interweb rumor is that Muggs intends on quickly following this project up with a true sequel, but I'll only believe that if both Dr. Dre's Detox and Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 manage to come out within the next twelve months.

If that happens, then anything is truly possible.

1. GANGSTA SHIT (FEAT BUN B & M1)
Right from the start, it appears that Muggs has dropped the creepy-as-fuck-but-still-cool female (I think, anyway) vocal sample that repeats the word "assassins", and I have to say, I miss it. A lot. Bun B and M1 (from dead prez) were an interesting pair to select as the first rappers you hear on Intermission: it's just too bad that the production on here is so bland that you end up not caring.

2. CLASSICAL (FEAT SICK JACKEN & EVIDENCE)
This was the first single I noticed on other blogs on the Interweb, and I did not care for it back then. Still don't, to be honest. Sick Jacken sounds awkward over the beat, which in itself is good, but it doesn't lend itself well to a hip hop atmosphere. And I've never been a Dilated Peoples fan, so Evidence didn't do anything for me. So far, I'm not impressed.

3. GUNSHOTS (FEAT CHACE INFINITE & THE ALCHEMIST)
It was awfully nice for Muggs to include Al on Intermission, especially since Al's own Chemical Warfare dropped a couple of weeks after, making that project a direct competitor. Chace Infinite (from Self Scientific) is okay, but the chemist's verse should have been left on the cutting room floor (ha! An Alchemist joke!), and the chorus sucked the balls of all the colors of the rainbow.

4. DO IT (FEAT LA COKA NOSTRA)
I wasn't impressed with this rap supergroup (which consists of Ill Bill, Slaine, and, essentially, every member of House of Pain) and their contribution to Intermission. Ill Bill's flow sounds as if it could have been cleaned up more than a little bit, and Everlast's bullshit appearance could have been performed by anybody. But then again, Everlast has enjoyed a lengthy friendship with Muggs and the Soul Assassins, so he was bound to appear on here at some point. Boston rapper Slaine does sound pretty damn good, though.

5. REP YO SHIT (FEAT P.C.P. (SICK JACKEN & NECRO))
I have a feeling that this pairing of underground stalwarts Necro and Sick Jacken will result in a collaborative album somewhere down the line. If this track is any indication, I probably won't care for it, as Necro's verse sounded fucking awful.

6. GOOD EVENING LOS ANGELES (FEAT SELF SCIENTIFIC)
The scratched-in vocal sample that lends itself to the song's title is annoying. Otherwise, I thought this was really good: Chace Infinite is mad as hell, and he isn't going to take it anymore, but he still manages to get his point across in an impressive way over DJ Khalil's production.

7. MEET YOUR MAKER (FEAT REEF THE LOST CAUSE & OUTERSPACE)
I actually liked this one a lot. The two artists that make up OuterSpace (Planetary and Crypt The Warchild, who are also frequent collaborators with Jedi Mind Tricks) sounds pretty good, but Reef murders this shit as if it were a coldly-calculated premeditated hit. The hook is a bit wordy, but you shouldn't expect anything less from underground rap artists.

8. INTERMISSION (FEAT THE RZA, REV. WILLIAM BURKE, PLANET ASIA, & B-REAL)
The centerpiece (literally) of Intermission is also its title track. Planet Asia sounds out of place alongside two hip hop legends and one weed carrier, and as such, contributes the weakest verse, and Funny People's The Rza, arguably the biggest star on the entire album, has an opening verse that reads well on paper, but the goofy flow he adopts (and his hilarious pronunciations of the words "bars" and "cars", which, admittedly, are rhymed with each other as a part of Prince Rakeem's scheme) is distracting. Rev. William Burke (we have officially run out of rap names, everyone), Rza's personal assistant and the guy responsible for picking up the man's kung fu DVDs and his honey-dipped pornography every Tuesday, actually sounds really fucking good on his two verses (why he got two verses, though, I can't figure out), and Cypress Hill's B-Real gets the best pre-verse introduction (it's just a sound bite of the word "assassins" again, but it was laid in perfectly) out of every single person on Intermission, as well he should, since he's the guy who has put up with the bulk of Muggerund's shit. This was really fucking entertaining.

9. CHAMPIONS (REMIX) (FEAT PRODIGY & BIG TWIN)
I haven't been able to figure out where the original version of this song is from, but it doesn't matter, as it was truly weak anyway. Cellblock P and the former Twin Gambino trade verses that you won't remember while you're hearing them performed, let alone after the fact. It was kind of weird that one of Prodigy's lines from here was sampled on La Coka Nostra's "Do It" five songs ago, though.

10. LET GO (MY LIFE) (FEAT FASHAWN)
I'm pretty sure that Muggs and Khalil could have given this beat to almost any other rapper in the universe and they would have done a better job with it. Gza/Genius comes to mind, actually: why isn't that guy on Intermission? He was on the other two Soul Assassins projects! What, was he busy?

11. LIKE THAT Y'ALL (FEAT PLANET ASIA)
Planet Asia redeems himself for his "Intermission" verse on here, but the beat is so scattershot and loopy that it gave me a fucking headache, rendering the performance useless.

12. WORLD WE'RE IN (FEAT CYNIC)
Cynic, the Street Platoon rapper who also shared mic duties (and a album cover credit, but only barely) with Sick Jacken on his Legend Of The Mask & The Assassin project with DJ Muggs, gets solo duty on a track that I didn't care for at all. The annoying high-pitched vocal sample on the beat and the dull lyrical delivery work together beautifully to create a truly terrible song.

13. CALL IT LIKE I SEE IT (FEAT CHACE INFINITE & KRONDON)
The hook is almost comical in how threatening it attempts to be. The beat isn't bad, though.

14. MATCHBOX (FEAT DUST)
The last true song on Intermission is an out-of-left-field trip-hop song that tries its best to sound like a blunted Portishead track. Fans of DJ Muggs who actually ran out to buy Dust, his trip-hop effort, won't be surprised, but gangsta rap aficionados will be thrown for a loop. This isn't bad, but it still doesn't fit, and this was a really strange way to end your album.

The final song on Intermission is labeled as a bonus track of sorts.

15. FIGURE IT OUT (YOUNG DE FEAT XZIBIT & MYKESTRO)
This song has gained a reputation on other blogs as being relatively awful, but with an awesome accompanying video clip. While the video is actually pretty well done, the song itself isn't bad. Don't get too excited: Xzibit only handles hook duties on here while the other two cover the field. It was still entertaining weed carrier music, though.

THE LAST WORD: Intermission was definitely more entertaining than The Alchemist's Chemical Warfare, but it doesn't hit as hard as the first two Soul Assassins efforts. DJ Muggs, the de facto leader of the crew, relies too heavily on guest appearances from artists who sound out of their league, leaving this project in the, um, dust when compared to the lyrical giants who helped shape the other efforts. One thing is for certain: these were certainly not leftover Cypress Hill instrumentals provided for your enjoyment. You're left wishing that the rappers did more with them, though. Oh well, maybe next go round.

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Other DJ Muggs-related material can be read about through here.

DJ Muggs vs. Gza/The Genius - Grandmasters (October 25, 2005)

In a Wu-Tang first, one of the original nine artists agreed to record an entire album produced by someone who is a well-known artist in his own right, but is not an actual part of the group. I'm referring to DJ Muggs, and his collaborative album with Gza/Genius is called Grandmasters.

Allegedly, these two hooked up because of their mutual love of chess, a theme that is prevalent on Grandmasters, from the song intros to the song titles. A few favors were called in on both sides, and the end result is an album that isn't technically a Gza solo album, but may as well be considered as one.

DJ Muggs started his theme of linking up with a single artist with Grandmasters. He would later attempt to master this particular category of rap album with collaborations with Sick Jacken (from Psycho Realm) and Planet Asia. Having one guy produce your album seems to be an anomaly in hip hop these days, but at one point in time, kids, this was the normal way to do things. Hopefully this will encourage more producers to take more interest in projects such as this, although I realize that, as a whole, the days of having your album done by one guy have been over for at least a decade.

I realize this intro is short, but I'm still not feeling one hundred percent. After this post, I'm taking a few days off to rest, so that the write-ups can appear more consistently. Also, I strongly encourage my two readers to start leaving more comments, as validation of a blogger's work is greatly appreciated.

Here you go.

1. OPENING
A very self-indulgent rap album intro. Listeners don't need to be reminded that DJ Muggs and Gza/Genius are the stars of the show: their names appear on the album cover, side by side. Seriously, folks, it's just music: it's not the cure for cancer.

2. THOSE THAT'S BOUT IT
Considering the fact that this song follows such a ridiculous intro, this track actually sucks even more than it would under regular circumstances.

3. DESTRUCTION OF A GUARD (FEAT RAEKWON)
The Rza barely appears at the very beginning, so he doesn't get a credit, and Raekwon's verse sounds forced, but the Gza himself sounds pretty good. However, the music threatens to swallow him whole, as Muggs tinkers with the instrumental, mostly with decent results. DJ Khalil remixed the track shortly after the release of Grandmasters and tacked on a guest spot by Ras Kass, making that song the only track in history that features both Raekwon and Ras Kass. I'm not a fan of the remix, but I'm sure many of you two are.

4. EXPLOITATION OF MISTAKES
This is good, even if Gza sounds like he's been getting into Raekwon's Ambien stash. The tale he weaves is thick with vivid imagery, and the simple beat serves its purpose and stays out of the way. Personally, I liked the gimmicky clacking of the typewriter keys, as it gives the impression as Gary Grice playing God with his creations.

5. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
This is the first track that sounds like it would be right at home on a more traditional Gza/Genius solo album. Flat out awesome, from the beat to the lyricism, even if Gza lets some curses fly but, confusingly, censors others. What the hell is that about? (This is the track which Gza performs a capella on "Elastic Audio" off of Pro Tools, for those of you that care to know.)

6. ADVANCE PAWNS (FEAT TH ERZA, RAEKWON, & SEN DOG OF CYPRESS HILL)
I've grown tired of Muggerund's incessant need to reutilize specific vocal samples on his projects as a form of audio signature (such as the guy shouting "Attention!"). Prince Rakeem sounds good, the Gza is simply the Gza (that's a good thing), Raekwon is half awake, and Sen Dog must have been very depressed in the studio the day Muggs was creating the track, since he barely does anything worth mentioning on here. However, the beat is Soul Assassins II-outtake flat-out dull.

7. QUEEN'S GAMBIT
Hey, kids! Are you sick of Gza's penchant for writing song lyrics based around a single theme, such as magazines, record labels, and animals? You are? Then you'll probably be annoyed with this song as well, which is about football. (American football, my overseas readers, although I admit it would be pretty funny to hear The Genius rhyme about soccer.) Well, at least the beat is decent.

8. ALL IN TOGETHER NOW (FEAT THE RZA)
The title pays its respects to the Gza's first rap crew, which was a trio made up of himself and his cousins, the Rza and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, who appears briefly during the intro thanks to the magic of archival footage. As sweet as the sentiment is, though, I wasn't that impressed with the final product.

9. UNSTOPPABLE THREATS (FEAT MASTA KILLA & PRODIGAL SUNN)
With a title like that, you would certainly expect the beat to sound a lot more aggressive. Also, you wouldn't expect a Wu-Tang B-teamer to make an appearance, but maybe that's just me. Maybe it doesn't matter, though, since the song is boring, and the presence of Masta Killa wasn't helping.

10. UNPROTECTED PIECES
Muggerund's instrumental makes for a valid case which insinuates that Eminem isn't really influenced by Dr. Dre's beats: whenever he needs to create an instrumental, Eminem turns to DJ Muggs for inspiration and/or something to swipe. I can't even recall the Gza being on this song, but he must have been.

11. ILLUSORY PROTECTION
The hook grabs you with what could be a sequel to "Unexplained" off of Liquid Swords (or whatever the fuck it's called, since that's the song that isn't titled correctly on that disc), and the beat carries you the rest of the way. This is more of the type of song that I was expecting from a team-up of this magnitude.

12. SMOTHERED MATE
I love this fucking song. It's got a great sound to it, with the guitars and the organs having their way with the drums. By far, this is the best collaborative work DJ Muggs and the Gza will ever do. Curiously, both Raekwon and The Rza receive writing credits for this song. Although the liner notes are of the variety that shouldn't be trusted (for example, Raekwon apparently didn't write his own verse from "Destruction Of A Guard"), it's still interesting to note. Did the folks that put the package together fuck up completely, or is there a version of the track with more Wu-Tang members on it? Did the Gza actually need help to write his verses? We may never know.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Grandmasters is a bit underwhelming. Lyrically, Gza/Genius has done better: although a handful of these tracks do deserve a place in the Wu-Tang canon, Gary sounds as if he came up with the lyrics on the spot for the most part, and was too lazy to switch things up. (The notable exceptions would be "Exploitation of Mistakes" and "Queen's Gambit", although the latter still isn't a good song.) Behind the boards, Muggs sounds barely inspired by his cohort for most of the disc: the tracks may as well have been Cypress Hill leftovers that he needed to clear off of his computer before he could start working on some new shit. (Or, they may have possibly been the beats from the DJ Muggs/Inspectah Deck collaboration album that has been fully recorded (allegedly) and never released.) This was hardly the blockbuster collaboration we had all been hoping for, but at the same time, there are a handful of tracks that are pretty fucking awesome, and you are still left wondering what the results would be if Muggs were to produce entire solo albums for the other members of the Wu-Tang Clan.

BUY OR BURN? This deserves your money, but just barely. When the emcee and the producer click, it's damn near magical, but when Muggs goes off on his own tangents, leaving Gza to wonder why he's stuck with the bill, the tide turns questionable. Perhaps what the Gza should do next is explore a full album collaboration with production from, I don't know, The Rza? I know, that's asking too much, but still.

BEST TRACKS: "Smothered Mate"; "Illusory Protection"; "General Principles"; "Exploitation of Mistakes"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Wu-Tang Clan posts can be found here, while all of the DJ Muggs write-ups are here.

DJ Muggs - Soul Assassins II (October 3, 2000)

DJ Muggs, erstwhile producer from the rap group Cypress Hill and creator of porno film scores, released the follow-up to his mildly-successful-if-not-chart-topping-or-record-setting-in-its-sales solo project, DJ Muggs Presents: Soul Assassins, Chapter 1, in 2000. SImply referred to as Soul Assassins II (the "chapter" has been dropped, possibly so that nobody will expect Chapter 3?), Muggs kept the ingredients the same (hip hop artists over Muggs production, some well-known, some only well-known to blog nerds like myself and their own parents), but added a couple of new cooks in the kitchen: Al "The Alchemist" Maman, who was a fringe member of the loose collective known as the Soul Assassins for years at this point (the group also features Cypress Hill, some other assorted rappers and musicians, and some graphic designers, who all require some aid in their attempt to take over the world using only music, art, and weed: click on the link below the review to find out more on how to contribute) was able to sneak a few contributions onto the final pressing, mainly with artists who would have otherwise have no business being even remotely linked to Cypress Hill. DJ Khalil, who I must admit I wasn't even aware knew Muggs personally, until I researched and found that Khalil once saved Muggs from the wrath of a murderous polar bear in downtown Los Angeles by wearing a tuxedo made up of beef jerky and empty Coca-Cola cans and running through a crowded public area, even manages to squeak by with a track from his rap outfit Self-Scientific (which also includes rapper Chace Infinite; the group would later team up with Muggs to form their own label, Angeles Records, but that's neither here nor there.)

Due to Cypress Hill's longtime association with Columbia Records (they've been signed to their subsidiary Ruffhouse for quite a while now), Muggs was easily able to convince the label to release some of his own musings, and thanks to their contributions, Muggs was able to include hip hop heavyweights like Dr. Dre and, um, Call O' Da Wild on Chapter 1. However, not actually selling any records is still to date the best way to get your record label to turn on you, and Columbia did just that, relegating Soul Assassins II to a subsidiary of fucking Ruffhouse called Rufflife, where the only other signed artists were rap group the Outsidaz (whose original lineup included future Rabbit Marshall Mathers; sadly, he wasn't in the group when they signed this deal); given the fact that Rufflife weren't provided with any sort of marketing budget to promote anything, the label would soon fold like a bad poker hand.

I actually don't recall any sort of advertising for Soul Assassins II anywhere except for on the Interweb, which doesn't make sense, because in 2000 nobody was viral-marketing anything. I also never saw a video (this may just be laziness on my part), but I do recall the first single that leaked was "When The Fat Lady Sings" by Gza/Genius: the Wu-Tang Clan lyrical swordsman was carefully chosen to help listeners remember his contribution on the original project's "Third World" (on which he appeared alongside his cousin The Rza). Due to a lack of awareness around the album (and the fact that I was pretty fucking broke at the time), I simply burned the album to disc and went on my merry way to work, where I listened to it in my office, hoping to hear more of what I liked from the first chapter, and less of the bullshit. Instead, I found Soul Assassins II to be a much darker album, taking place in a world where clubbing was verboten and the only way to stay alive was to be more aggressive than the last guy. Also, it featured much more consistent Muggs production work, which is to say that he wasn't blatantly trying to rip off the sounds of the producers that appeared on Chapter 1 (see: Dr. Dre, The Rza).

Inevitably, this led me to (gasp!) buy the fucking album, which I probably paid too much for, since it was one of those discs that wasn't advertised in the Best Buy sale ad on Sunday due to lack of promotion by Rufflife, so it was selling at full price, but whatever. After tearing open the plastic, I was shocked to find an extra song at the end of the disc (the Self-Scientific contribution which I alluded to earlier), followed by the outro, which I had already heard on my version of the album. In fact, my version also separated the intro from the first song, whereas they are now crammed onto the first track on the real album. (Obviously, I downloaded a promotional copy, but I wasn't aware of it at the time.) Compounding my confusion later was the fact that there was yet another song featured at the end of the international version, which I hunted down on the Interweb just so I could write about it for my two loyal readers.

Ultimately, I believe that I was the only person in the world that actually picked up Soul Assassins II, since soon afterward Muggs found himself having to procure an apartment hunter for a new label home for his solo work. Of course, Columbia kept him on for his work with Cypress Hill (since record labels are shady and two-faced like that), but around this time longtime Cypress listeners would notice that Muggs would slowly and carefully let other producers handle some of the production duties on their studio albums, almost as if he were trying to extract himself from the group and/or their contract. Whatever. It's not like Muggs doesn't make any money: I remember reading an interview where a reporter asked him what popped in his mind every time House of Pain's "Jump Around" would come on the radio (Muggs produced the track), and he responded something to the effect of "The royalty check in my mailbox".

The end result of Soul Assassins II is a dark, moody album with no obvious singles, for the club, radio, or otherwise, that nobody bothered to promote and sold only one copy.

Is that something that should be changed?

1. REAL LIFE (KOOL G. RAP)
Soul Assassins II has an interesting The Warriors theme throughout, specifically the radio deejay who kept reporting the gang's actions to the audience. Kool G. Rap's storytelling sounds as potent as ever, but the beat lets him down: it tries to sound soulful, but has the same effect as taking two Ambien with a vodka chaser.

2. WE WILL SURVIVE (G.O.D. PT. III)
This song presents the opposite problem. The beat sounds great, but G.O.D. Pt. III (a rapper from Mobb Deep's weed carrying group the Infamous Mobb, and a guy that has one of the most awkward names in hip hop, right up there next to "Barbara Walters") fails the track. WIth all of the allusions to Mobb Deep on here, it makes you wish that Havoc and Prodigy were available to spit on this instead. Okay, maybe not Prodigy.

3. YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT (XZIBIT & KING TEE)
Some flat-out pimp swagger 1970's blaxploitation shit. This song fucking rocks. Xzibit is a slow burn personified, and King Tee provides much-needed contrast with his friendlier-by-comparison flow.

4. WHEN THE FAT LADY SINGS (GZA/GENIUS)
This song may only exist to create a link between Chapter 1 and Soul Assassins II, but while Gza sounds good, the beat and hook suck ass. Songs like this make me wonder why Gza thought it would be a good idea to do an entire album with DJ Muggs (although that album, to be fair, did not suck).

5. THIS SOME'N TO (GOODIE MOB)
Goodie Mob was also brought back to capitalize off of their superior Chapter 1 outing, "Decisions Decisions", but they left Cee-Lo behind, which is a shame: his long-ass final verse on Chapter 1 was a master's piece teaching wannabe rappers what they will have to go through in the record industry. This song, in comparison, isn't bad, but it certainly isn't good.

6. ARMAGEDDON (INTERLUDE) (KURUPT)
I've mentioned numerous times on this blog how I'm still puzzled as to how Kurupt snagged the final slot in the rap supergroup The Four Horsemen, alongside Canibus, Killah Priest, and Ras Kass. I stand by my statement, since his work with those other three rappers hasn't impressed me yet, but when he's in his element, I do like Kurupt, and he rips the shit out of this powerful instrumental with his one verse. Too bad it's just an interlude.

7. VICTORY & DEFEAT (HOSTYLE)
The Alchemist gets tagged in and provides the musical accompaniment to Hostyle's solo effort. To this day, I'm not sure why Hostyle (of the rap group Screwball) was chosen, since it's not like Screwball were ever critical darlings or anything (their DJ Premier-produced "F.A.Y.B.A.N. still fucking knocks, though), and while Hostyle sounds like he's running out of breath with every syllable that leave his lips, the song is pretty good anyway.

8. HEART OF THE ASSASSIN (CHACE INFINITE, KRONDON, PHENAM, & RAS KASS)
A posse cut that featuers rappers whose names were drawn from a hat. Chace Infinite (from Self-Scientific) and Krondon (from Strong Arm Steady, who work frequently with the likes of Talib Kweli these days) come off okay, and Phenam (Lord knows who the fuck he is) sounds like shit, but the real winner here is cameo king Rassy Kassy, whose verse is way too short. If Ras Kass were to somehow get a budget, this would be the type of beat he should procure for himself: if he did just that, I wouldn't complain nearly as much. Oh, and B-Real (of Cypress Hill) appears to spit a ridiculous hook that has no place on any song, much less this one.

9. SUCKERS ARE HIDIN' (DILATED PEOPLES)
I never cared for Dilated Peoples. I can't pinpoint exactly why, but it has something to do with Evidence's voice: I always thought he came off as a gravelly-voiced pretentious ass. (And yet I like Chali 2na from Jurassic 5. Go figure.) I bought their album The Platform essentially based off of the collaborations they did with a lot of West Coast luminaries, and that was the last time I bought a CD without ever hearing anything first. (Makes me wish there were blogs like this back then.) Anyway, at least Al Maman's beat is good.

10. WHEN THE PAIN INFLICT (KURUPT & ROSCOE)
Snoop Dogg makes an uncredited cameo, as does Daz from Tha Dogg Pound, Kurupt's day job. This Wild West-themed track also features Kurupt's little brother Roscoe, who I thought made his living making curse-free gangsta rap songs for children and their grandmothers to ride to, but spits like a foulmouthed sailor on this. Kurupt should probably try to get some Muggs production on his solo albums as well, since he acquits himself nicely on his second appearance on the disc.

11. DON'T TRIP (CYPRESS HILL)
You don't really need to hear this one.

12. RAZOR TO YOUR THROAT (EVERLAST)
Pretty creative to use a Rza vocal sample in a song that features the word "razor" in its title. Muggs and Everlast (late of House of Pain and his racist cop character on Prince Paul's A Prince Among Thieves) have made beautiful music together in the past. "Past" being the operative word.

13. MILLENIUM THRUST (SELF-SCIENTIFIC)
As I mentioned above, this song wasn't on the first version of Soul Assassins II that I heard, so probably because of that fact alone, it doesn't sound like it belongs on the album, since DJ Khalil's production sounds downright positive and inspiring in comparison. However, the song as a whole isn't very good, so it turns out I wasn't missing much with my promotional copy.

The following is included as a bonus track on international pressings of Soul Assassins II:

14. BACK UP OFF ME (BUC FIFTY)
Alchemist provides the instrumental for the international bonus track, which features not a rapper from Canada or Europe but some guy from Los Angeles, who sounds decent enough anyway. The real surprise here, though, is the bouncier remixed version of Gza/Genius's "When The Fat Lady Sings" that comes on after "Back Up Off Me" finishes: this fitter. happier version works so much better than the bland original.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Soul Assassins II is one of those albums that flew under the radar, and I would be surprised if you two readers have even heard of it. It's always nice to find an album that nobody really knows about and discover some really good music, though, so this was a pleasant surprise, both in 2000 and today, since a lot of it still holds up. It's almost enough to make you start petitioning Muggs for a third chapter in the saga. (Personally, I can wait for Chapter III if Muggs promises to finally release that collaborative album he recorded with Inspectah Deck before he worked on Grandmasters with Gza/Genius. Deck needs some shine, man!)

BUY OR BURN? By all means, pick this shit up. You won't miss those three dollars that you'll spend since this can be bought for cheap online. While you're at it, if you haven't already done so, you may as well pick up the first album too (the link to the original review for Chapter 1 is below). Unwrap the plastic, dim the lights, bring out whatever drugs are the flavor of your day, and enjoy.

BEST TRACKS: "You Better Believe It"; "Armageddon (Interlude)"; "Heart of The Assassin"; "When The Pain Inflict"; "Victory & Defeat"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:DJ Muggs - Soul Assassins: Chapter 1
Cypress Hill - Cypress Hill

DJ Muggs - Soul Assassins Chapter 1 (March 4, 1997)

Here's another one out of left field. When I was younger, before the internet made it impossible for new albums to ever be considered as "eagerly anticipated", I used to buy a lot of compact discs after having heard only a single song, or after reading about it in The Source. The day an album hit store shelves was once an event; today everyone just wonders when the hell the new Clipse album is going to get ripped. I miss going to the stores every Tuesday to check out the new releases and making selections by having faith in the artists involved, mainly because that was all there was to work with back then.

The first DJ Muggs compilation album, Soul Assassins Chapter 1, was one of my better blind choices. Sure, Muggs may have been famous for being a part of Cypress Hill (and for producing House of Pain's "Jump Around"), but he was eager to prove his production skills went beyond making beats for a couple of stoners. So he basically gathered a larger bunch of stoners to help him record this project.

It's refreshing to read "All Songs Produced, Arranged, and Composed By Muggs" on the back of the album booklet, especially since most rap albums these days feel (and sound) as if they were made by fucking committee.

1. THE TIME HAS COME
Even Muggs isn't immune to the dreaded "hip hop album intro" curse.

2. PUPPET MASTER (DR. DRE and B-REAL)
The worst Dr. Dre beat that he never created. For a Muggs beat, though, this wasn't half bad. B-Real's inclusion is kinda sketchy, though.

3. DECISIONS, DECISIONS (GOODIE MOB)
A pre-Gnarls Cee-Lo steals the entire album with one verse, it's that good.

4. THIRD WORLD (RZA and GZA/GENIUS)
The worst RZA beat that he never created. For a Muggs beat, though...

5. BATTLE OF 2001 (CYPRESS HILL)
C'mon, there's no way that Cypress Hill wouldn't be included on Soul Assassins Chapter 1. 

6. DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (LA THE DARKMAN)
If someone can explain how a Wu-affiliate can debut on a non-Wu album, I would greatly appreciate it. Prizes may be involved.

7. HEAVY WEIGHTS (MC EIHT)
This West Coast O.G. (who I was never really a fan of) sounds pretty decent over a sleep-inducing beat.

8. MOVE AHEAD (KRS-ONE)
One of the best who ever did it. Emcees act like they don't know.

9. IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU (MOBB DEEP)
From the Nicolas Cage movie of the same name.

10. LIFE IS TRAGIC (INFAMOUS MOBB)
From the Nicolas Cage movie of the same name.

11. NEW YORK UNDERCOVER (CALL O' DA WILD)
The beat is pretty hype. As to who Call O' Da Wild are, and whatever happened to them, that's a story for another blogger to provide.

12. JOHN 3:16 (WYCLEF)
Cypress Hill and the Fugees had that "Boom Biddy Bye Bye" remix off of the Unreleased and Revamped EP, so this combo isn't really as shocking as it reads.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I remember buying Soul Assassins Chapter 1 solely off of the radio spins of "Puppet Master" (which, admittedly, isn't that great of a track). Cee-Lo's verse on "Decisions, Decisions" blew my mind when I first heard it, though, and this was before he got the Hip Hop Quotable in The Source. All in all, this was a good first "solo" effort for DJ Muggs, and it would eventually pave the way for the GZA collaboration album Grandmasters, and, unfortunately, his own solo electronica album Dust (which you should only listen at your own risk).

BUY OR BURN?  You should definitely buy this one, especially since you can probably find it pretty cheap online.

BEST TRACKS: "Decisions, Decisions"; "Third World"; "Move Ahead"

-Max