|
Mountain Brothers: Self Volume 1 The Mountain Brothers. The rap group that took their name from an old Chinese legend. Who are they? Styles, Peril-L, and Chops, three Chinese rappers from the same area of Philadelphia that The Roots are from. What kind of style are they? Picture an early Tribe Called Quest crossed with The Roots. But they're 100% original. Why should you know who they are? Because they've dropped one of the nicest hip-hop albums of 1999, and you're really missing out if you don't try and peep their music. As requested, a song by song review: All Good Heroes need Theme music Serving as a minute long intro, this instrumental is titled the theme song. It's simply a dope beat with furious scratching done by the group's producer Chops. Very solid way to open off. It closes by announcing that The Mountain Brothers are all here. Galaxies: The Next Level The first single and one of the best cuts on the CD. This has a real smooth jazzy feel. Live piano and mellow strumming of a guitar, and Chops using a vocoder in the background all the way through, the word to describe this beat would be "beautiful." The subject is how The Mountain Brothers plan to elevate hip-hop to the next level, and they throw in some stories of being unsigned and struggling and how grateful they are those days are over. The fast raps over the slower beat sounds dope. Chops closes things off by getting busy on the vocoder Roger Troutman style. Brand Names At less than 2 minutes, this is one of several "interludes" but it features a beat and a verse by Styles. This is a mockery of rappers who use clothing brand names and bragging where they eat at and hotels they stay at to bust rhymes. Styles gives props to Denney's, the Super 8 motel, and his tube socks. The beat is tight as hell, guitar and bells, but it's less than 2 minutes long and ends before you can enjoy it. Fluids Over an almost DJ Premeire-like beat, Chops has already proven at this point that his production skills ain't no joke. This is the best beat on the album, as horns bring in a banging drum, and Chops scratches and cuts thru the whole song. The subject matter is simple, just battle rhymes and bragging about how dope they are. Their rhymes are fluids that you need to survive. Peep Chops: "Hip-hop is kind of scary/cuz a lot of cats is talking out they ass like Jim Carrey/and sayin' nada but I know The Time like Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis/Man, you got to get your Fluids"Countless dope quotes throughout this whole cut. The Adventures of... Here The Mountain Brothers get into storytelling mode as they play differenet characters. Peril-L plays The Extraterrestrial Average Joe: His power is battle rapping and he takes out wack MC's. Styles plays The Cosmic Pimp: He eventually stops a pursesnatching. Chops is The Magnificent Butcher: He spots Hip-Hop crossing over and acting wack, and Chops singlehandedly tries to bring it back to it's roots. Very entertaining. Another dope beat filled with scratches. Love Poetry A waste of time interlude. A weak "love" beat and corny love raps for a minute and a half. Fast forward material. Dig It Chops plays a mean wah-wah guitar and horns are mixed into the background to create yet another dope beat. The lyrics are aimed at the ladies, but this beat can felt by all. "The earth'll move, boots will knock, and worlds will, rock and/Lockin lips, got between your hips liquid/Can I dig it baby?" Dope. Paperchase This song questions why everything is money related and why is everyone's goal $$$. Over a dope almost Roots-like beat complete with live guitars and bells, the MB's drop gems like "I wreck and smash foes, gettin paid for half ass shows/Most are too concerened about gettin cash flows" Songs like this show how down to earth these dudes are. Super Saturday Another minute long interlude, this is an ad for a Saturday afternoon show by The Mountain Brothers. The beat is decent, but the annoying announcer makes this fast forward material. Whiplash This jam could cause whiplash. The guitar in the background is infectous. The live instruments make for incredible beats, and as on nearly every track, Chops hops on the turntables. More bragging about how dope they are and what they'll do to wack MC's. Chops verse is straight hilarious. "We comin' off like a prom dress" "taggin' ass like a graffhead" "leave ya screamin like a child left with The British Nanny" "get in your ass like a suppository" Dope Turntable Mathematics Misleading title as there is no turntablism. Just a dope keyboard and guitar loop. The title derives as Chops throws in the names of various DJ equiptment in a short rap. Dope, but less than 2 minutes long. Day Jobs A good concept. The MB's talk about occupations they had before they were rappers. Something we can all relate too and an original idea, but the wack beat and annoying hook make this almost unlistenable. Fast Forward. The low spot on the album. Wake Up Call The alarm goes and a radio station plays. Pointless 57 second interlude. Doesn't need to be on here. I'm starting to wonder if things are taking a bad turn but then... Things to do The MB's run thru a day in their life. They take naps, get food, shop, visit family and crew, write rhymes, and chill. And other things. Very simple, very dope. The beat is tight. Real jazzy with Chops scratching up the phrase "1001 stupid things to do" as the hook. Dope. Days of Being Dumb I can't even describe this bassline. It's perfect, going up and down, flipping all over the place, well I can't describe it. The simple drum beat and custom piano and bells make it mellow, as they rap about days in their youth. "I rocked the same "It takes a nation" for the duration til the tape got ate/A late addition but delayed vision got me itchin'" Again, very easy to relate to and very smooth production. The bassline is too ill. Black Whirlwhind Peril-L raps on this minute long interlude, a quick freestyle. Dope beat, nice rhymes, don't bother skipping over this one. Ain't Nothin 98 The gem of the CD. The beat is sick. A chant in the background. Scratching from left speaker to right. Chops scratches up the Black Sheep's phrase "I make it look easy because it is to me" and then a female voice saying "ain't nothin" Every track the MB's funny punchlines can bring a smile to your face, but they are at the top of their game here. "I use a buck to wipe my ass cuz my shit is on the money/Mentally, I'm like how a white chick smells wet, you know, kinda funny" Bragging about how dope they are, and how they pull mad women, cuz it "ain't nothin" 5 Elements Joined by underground rappers Sherlock Holmez and Mastery, the 5 rappers take on the roles of Wood, Fire, Earth, Water, and Gold. But then they just brag how dope they are. The 2 guests are nothing special, but they aren't wack either. An average cut. The beat is once again very jazzy and very dope. "My style could be on the special olympic ski team: cold retarded" Chops steals the show at the end. oh-oh-oh This last song I assume was added on as a joke. But it's a 5 minute joke that takes away from the CD. It's a parody of "booty-rap" as they chant ridiculous things over a bounce beat. Garbage. Overall: This CD is dope. The subject matter isn't very deep, but neither was The Low End Theory and that's a classic. The MB's are more concerced with taking out wack MC's than speaking on anything going on in society. They're having fun and bringing you along for the ride. The production is off the hook. It's instrumentals are comparable with ANY instrumentals. Picture Things Fall Apart with added humor in the lyrics, and a little bit less live instruments. Lots of scratching too. If you've liked The Roots recent work, you'll dig this. You can tell they were an influence to the group. 4 out of 5. | |