After a year of re-recording and remixing, CORMEGA, returns from Legal
Hustle Records vault with the most highly anticipated hip-hop album release in recent history.
Recorded when Cormega was signed to Violator/Def Jam Records, THE TESTAMENT, will be released on Legal Hustle Records February 22nd, 2005, as originally recorded with production from Havoc, Sha Money XL, RNS, Prestige, Nasheem, Dave Atkinson, Cormega and others featuring guest appearances from Mobb Deep and Fatal Hussein of Tupac’s The Outlaws.
Cormega describes The Testament as his rawest album ever, “I was younger and more aggressive with my lyrics back then. It was my first deal, I just got out of jail and I had a lot of things on my mind. The album reflects where I was at that time in my life. I didn’t change anything, production or lyrics and it still sounds current.”
When Cormega severed ties with Violator and Def Jam, fans craved anything remotely close to the priceless Testament cuts that made their way via
mixtapes and samplers in 1997. Bootleggers, fans, and industry insiders went into overdrive everyone claiming to have The Testament, but Cormega kept the album under wraps and it will be released to a waiting public curious to hear what all the “buzz” was about and anxious to finally hear the album that almost never was. The street buzz and rampant bootlegging was enough to gain Cormega national exposure and a following in the underground circles.
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Classics like “Angel Dust,” featuring Havoc and “Killaz Theme” featuring Mobb Deep flooded the streets, while the title track, “The Testament” was praised by Source Magazine and the now defunct Blaze Magazine. Vibe Magazine and Ego Trip’s Book Of List named The Testament one of the best unreleased album in hip-hop history.
Several songs including “Killer’s Theme,” which was a hidden track on The
Realness, “Dead Man Walking” and “The Testament,” were leaked to the streets or performed at shows.
Considering that the album is being released as originally intended, don’t be surprised to hear, “One Love,” a letter Cormega wrote to NAS while still in jail. Although the two have severed ties, the song is authentic to The Testament and was untouched to signify that era.
“It’s funny how I recorded these tracks almost a decade ago and people think they’re all new. When we were in the studio listening back to the tracks, I got to hear how much I’ve grown as an artist and even more as a man,” offers Cormega.
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With The Testament , Cormega teaches us all the difference between following the trends and recording classic, timeless hip-hop.
