Apathy – Honkey Kong

    William Ketchum III1035 mins

    In early 2011, Apathy had a Twitter rant that chastised the state of rap. He didn’t say anything new—frets about the commercial music outnumbering the sincerity, artists being soft and emo instead of the hardnosed demeanors from yesteryear—but to some, it was refreshing to see an artist speaking his mind without fears of industry repercussions. With his third album, Honkey Kong (listen to the teaser ), the Connecticut emcee backs up his tweets by crafting music that harkens back to the rap that he fell in love with years ago.

    As a member of Demigodz, Get Busy Committee, and Army of the Pharaohs, Apathy has reminders of raw Hip Hop around him on a daily basis. He continues to keep similarly-minded company around him on Honkey Kong, and while his legendary compatriots do their jobs, Apathy proves his understanding of their era with his own performance. He and Celph Titled trade barbarianisms over DJ Premier’s brawny guitar riffs and snares on “Stop What Ya Doin,” he deftly maneuvers Muggs’ punchy string plucks on “Fear Itself,” and he waxes poetic about his hometown over the Beatminerz’ twangy “Peace Connecticut.” Even West Coast vet Xzibit re-emerges to join Ap on “The Recipe.” When his role models aren’t offering new material, they’re resurfacing through samples: iconic lyrics from acts like Outkast, Pharcyde and EPMD are looped or quoted throughout the album, further reminders of where the album’s creator keeps his standards.

    When Apathy isn’t reveling at the opportunity to rock alongside his idols, he’s doing his best to make timeless records of his own by utilizing his arsenal of multisyllabic rhymes, relatable topics and grimy soundbeds. Many of the songs are simple showcases of his verbal acrobatics, but he handles concepts just as well. His self-produced efforts are especially strong: the eerie “1:52AM” narrates a grim, two-sided tale of a woman terrified of her jealous ex-boyfriend, and “The Villian” flips the perception of good vs. evil. The Statik Selektah-laced “It’s Just Hip-Hop” encourages fans to keep their love reasonable (“it’s cool if you say your favorite rapper’s Apathy/but don’t be getting all overzealous and faggoty [sic],” he insists), while “I Dedicate This To You” thanks a longtime wifey for loyalty without losing Ap’s edge. Posse cut obligations are fulfilled with “Army of the Godz,” which sees Ap teaming with over half a dozen other emcees from his crew to obliterate a venomous beat by Teddy Roxpin.

    Listeners hoping for Apathy to reinvent the wheel with Honkey Kong may be disappointed, but the disc is a great reminder of the rap that he and many of his fans grew up listening to. By translating the reverence toward his idols into his own talents instead of living in the past, Apathy continues to earn his keep in a genre that he feels is losing its way.

    103 thoughts on “Apathy – Honkey Kong”

    10. Album is fuckin’ dope as all hell, but not sure who the Nitty Gritty Committee is, it’s the get busy committee, but other than that typo, pretty solid review. This album is on constant replay on my ipod.

      Reply

    11. Dude won me over with this reord, I never saw the big deal before but I decided to give this a chance on the strength of the guests & Production, totally caught me off guard, only 2 tracks I coulda done without

      Thinking maybe I should go back and give his older shit another try, feelin it that much

      Reply

      2. Yo “Anon”….I’m surprised this is the first album you’ve ever heard by Apathy. Damn, that’s sad. You’re missing out like crazy man. His first real album “Eastern Philosophy” is the illest shit you’ll hear in years. That album shits on this album and his one before this. He also has crazy unofficial albums too like “It’s the Bootleg, Muthafuckas Volume 1 and 2” which has Celph Titled all over it. You need to cop his older shit asap.

        Reply

    19. Goddamnit….Really thought the production would be better, especially considering the producers he’s got on here. Definitely let down by the Premo beat, wtf? It’s still nice, but c’mon son. Ap, I think you need to have Celph stick to the producin like he used to. The Godz Must Be Crazy EP is easily one of the illest hip hop albums ever, man. Those beats are fuckin insane, and I’m pretty sure Celph did them. Either that, or let Chum produce again. You know ILL Eastern Philosophy was?!! EVERY beat was FIRE! Chum made most of them and that’s why it’s so damn cohesive. I don’t think that album will ever be topped but whatever. Album is still nice, but I think Ap is too nice to have subpar production. Definitely shoulda left Statik Selektah off the album, that dude is really startin to be garbage to me. Holy Ghost and The Recipe beats shoulda been left off, man. I gotta say, best beat on here is “Never Say Never” that shit is fire!! And cotdamn, Ap, good fuckin look with Mad Lion on that shit!! Fuckin bananas!! If more of the beats sounded like that, this shit woulda been fuckin bonkers. Album is still good as hell, I just got high standards for Ap and anyone else who is beastly on the mic.

      Reply

    21. This is Apathy’s third solo album, and it stands up well to his first two; however, I feel like it’s his weakest one by a slim margin. I feel like the production of his earlier albums were slightly stronger, and his lyricism seemed to work better because of this. I was also surprised to not find any songs I was absolutely blown away by (ones that get 9 or above). Over this is an above average album, but nothing close to be considered a classic.

      Album Rating: 7.75 out of 10

      7.6 Honkey Kong ft. Vinnie Paz – some what average, but Vinnie Paz’s contribution goes hard
      6.3 – Holy Ghost (ft. Slaine) – Solid flow but it is nothing too special.
      7.8 – The Villain (ft. Ill Bill) – Great production and sampling on the beat, but average lyrics.
      8.0 – Check To Check – Solid lyrics to a chill beat
      8.2 – Stop What Ya Doin (ft. Celph Titled) – Great intro and production by DJ Premier, but I was expecting more lyrical strength from apathy, considering Celph Titled flows well.
      7.8 – The Recipe ft. Xzibit – It has an unsatisfying spacy beat, but Xzibit definitely does his thing
      7.4 – Fear Itself – An ok Dj Muggs beat, but appathy flows great. There’s also a neat presidential sample.
      8.3 – It’s Only Hip Hop (ft. Brevi) – Great lyrics and samples by but it could have more variation.
      8.7 – I Dedicate This To You (ft. Tosha Makia) – I always enjoy Apathy’s songs about love. You can feel the emotion in his flow. Great scratching at the finish.
      7.8 All I Think About (ft. Action Bronson) – Great chill chorus and sampling, but flow could be less mundane.
      8.5 – Never Say Never (ft. General Steele and Mad Lion) – Effectively eerie ambient beat and is complimented by a cold and chilling flow from each MC. Mad Lion is a stand out on this song, and makes it memorable on the album.
      5.4 – Albino (Gorillas ft. Esoteric) – Borning beat and little emotion in flow
      8.6 – Peace Connecticut – Chill flow and beat with great scratching and DJing
      8.9 Army Of The Godz (ft. Esoteric, Blacastan, Reef The Lost Cauze, Outerspace, Motive, Celph Titled, and Vinnie Paz) – The beat is everywhere! In a good way. It helps keep the variation up, which compliments the vast amount of features on this song. No one has a bad flow in this, which is surprising.
      7.5 – 152 A.M. – It has a very creepy beat which is fitting for the unfortunate story. But it lacks that pizaz of a classic horror tale.

      Reply

    23. Big disappointment. he over did the gorilla theme. Prolly gonna get some hate for this comment but aotp/dgz been puttin out some disappointing shit the last 2 years. maybe its just because the gatalog was my introduction to the whole crew

      Reply

    28. shit is sick, Apathy has been killing it, this album is definitely the best album of the year so far, check out Slaine’s album too.

      Reply

    30. When I saw the tracklist and the producers and guest appearances, I thought this gonna be easily the greatest album of 2011. Now i’ve listened that shit-And I saw the lyrical greatness-Ap raises his crazy flow more and more-BUT, a little disappointment about beats. Nevertheless, Honkey Kong is one of the greatest albums of the year.
      Check out OuterSpace’s My Brother’s Keeper, too.

      Reply

    39. Damn this dude dropped a bomb. Always knew this guy had crazy talent. As a kid, this dude was one of the deadliest emcees in the circuit. Y’all should really check the shit Apathy did as a teenager, and in his early 20’s if you haven’t. This dude has a long body of work and he’s been a complete artist since he stepped in. Atlantic Records fucked his major label chance up. I think they got scared when they didn’t know what to do with Little Brother. If you look around, the industry was ready for Apathy. He’s infinitely stronger than Asher Roth, Mac Miller, and any other factory made “white” rapper. I really don’t understand the consumer/industry relation anymore. Mac Miller is cool, to the very same kid saying Apathy is corny.

      This was a great body of work. Front to back hot beats crazy flows. DJ Muggs beat was real hot. That Beatminerz track is one of the hottest beats I’ve heard from them in a long ass time. Nice to hear from Xzibit too. He killed that joint. Cop this shit.

      Reply

    42. I love Ap, bought this album as a collector’s version. This is damn fine but when you’re following up Eastern Philosophy and Wanna Snuggle? Its not unreasonable to expect an Illmatic out of Apathy. Eastern Philosophy blew my fucking mind. I knew he was nice but when that dropped, I couldn’t stop and still can’t stop listening to it. Its rap for the sake of rap: skills, lyricism, head nodding beats, and free of bullshit. If he’d released his material in the mids 90s, we’d all be bitching about how no one rocks the mic anymore like Apathy.

      Reply

      1. THANK YOU MAN! Finally, someone who fuckin understands this shit. I’ve said a million times, when Eastern Philosophy came out, that shit really blew my fuckin mind! I had been a HUGE Ap before it came out, and I wasn’t expecting Eastern to be even close to how ILL it was! Because Ap has rapped over so many different types of beats, I just wasn’t expecting that ridiculous production. That is easily his best album, no question. And it’s too bad about the Atlantic situation, because even if he had put out JUST ONE album, there’d be a much bigger chance that the world would know who he is and he could possibly have a much bigger fanbase. BEcause in my opinion, the world and all real hip hop fans, need to know who this man is and that he exists. He is just too nice on the mic. Easily one of the best! EVeryone needs to check his earlier work too! All the mixtapes and unofficial albums with Celph TItled and shit! Gods Must BE Crazy best album ever..

        Reply

    43. Apathy holds it down for CT again!

      If you dig hot Connecticut hip hop, check out Mike Twain @ reverbnation.com/miketwain, or over 200 songs @ soundclick.com/miketwain.

      Reply

    46. Holy crap! This album is absolutely epic! I have listened to Apathy for years and this album is truly euphoric! Sick! Album of the year! lyrics are ridiculous amazing! album of the year!

      Reply

    65. This album is dope as fuck! smoke weed everyday is classic! i love never say never with the goonies eerie soundtrack in the background…love all the tracks!!! classic! check to check is dope too!!

      Reply

    67. Really good, but Eastern Philosophy is his Illmatic and this one sounds too much like all the other underground albums that’re out. I’m not one to (over)-rate it based on boom bap beats.

      Reply

    76. Easily my album of the year. Not only is Apathy’s lyricism and word play as brilliant as always but the use of samples on loads of the tracks is top-drawer. Great work by multiple producers. I hope it’s not too long a wait for Get Busy Commitee’s next album now..

      Reply

    77. Honkey Kong>Tha Carter IV….
      Comment back after you listen to following tracks
      3. The Villain
      5. Stop What Ya Doin’
      6. The Recipe
      10. I Dedicate This to You (Radio Friendly)
      17. East Coast Rapist
      23. Death To The Culture Vultures

      Reply

    81. This is one of my top 5 full lengths of the past year. Fantastic album. Lot’s of early 90’s feel to it while sounding current. This is real hip hop. You may never hear any track on the radio and that’s just fine with me.

      Reply

    82. totally agree with dude who said “Eastern Philosophy” is his Illmatic. That album is/was fuckin incredible! I was blown away when I heard it. That album is hard to top, man. BTW, DX, u gave home four stars and a good review; how is this not in your top 25 of 2011 list?!!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Latest News
    Salt-N-Pepa Slam UMG Over Battle For Master Recordings
    Young Thug Called A ‘Hero’ By His Lawyer
    Fivio Foreign Released From Jail After Terroristic Threats Conviction
    Nicki Minaj Gets Into Row With NFL Legend Over Husband
    Diddy Denied $50 Million Bail
    A$AP Rocky Jokes About Tyler, The Creator Being A ‘Bitch’
    Drake Opens Up About His Birthmark
    Beyoncé’s Father Addresses Her Music Being Stolen
    Metro Boomin Calls Out Critics Of New Mixtape
    Kid Cudi Doesn’t Want Features On His Albums Anymore
    More News