Hardcore material representative of Hip Hop made in the mid-to-late ‘90s has been taking a beating in some circles. Somewhat backhanded phrases like “Rappity-Rap” and “boom bap” epitomize aggressive, multisyllabic, Rap infused with similes and metaphors accented with sample-based production. Army of the Pharaohs rarely (if ever) give off the appearance of being threatened by this stigma, in part, because their individual and collective careers originated from that era. Some 16 years later, after multiple lineup changes and over a decade of watching Rap evolve (or devolve…depending on your perspective), AOTP splits their time between simultaneously preserving Hip Hop’s Golden Era and asserting their current relevance by competitively out-rhyming each other.
The open secret among fans of The Demigodz, Jedi Mind Tricks, Army of the Pharaohs and their collective peers is listeners can consistently expect a complimentary mix of abrasive rhymes and production. They more than deliver on that front. On “Visual Camouflage,” Juan Muteniac flips a guitar break and vocal sample from Adrian Younge’s “Turn Down The Sound,” adds in some additional electric guitars, and Apathy provides his usual, technically precise, violent, tongue-in-cheek bars.
“I will murk you, murder you / Turn you burgundy with the burner / Burst your bubble, snuff you, uppercut you like you had the nerve to / Touch a Kurdish virgin in a burka / Yelling Durka Durka,” the self-proclaimed “Honkey Kong” rhymes.
The collective references to lost civilizations such as Sumerians and Ancient Egypt are far from coincidental. While AOTP doesn’t date back to the Bronze Age, they do embrace elements of Hip Hop that have become less popular in recent years. There are hints of horrorcore, as Celph Titled plays dodgeball with severed heads on “God Particle,” and Vinnie Paz offers the sharp end of a jailhouse shiv and piss to his enemies on “Luxor Temple.” The one area where In Death Reborn arguably stumbles is when the focus shifts from internal competition and artistically raising the bar to extensive criticism about Rap’s current state and Golden Era romanticism.
“I don’t listen to the music that you herbs create / Soft mothafuckas sound like you rehearse with Drake / It’s wearin’ on me, I don’t know how much my nerves can take / I guess being a bitch requires certain tastes,” Vinnie rhymes on “Broken Safeties.” He’s not particularly wrong here. And the chances of an overlap between Drake fans and AOTP fans are slim to none. But conceptually the album’s material is much more enjoyable when the group focuses such energy on leading by example and venturing outside of their comfort zones. Between Vinnie Paz sparking the competitive cypher feel of “God Particle” and the darkly melodic “Azrael,” there are enough instances of experimentation and raw talent to push In Death Reborn into superior album territory. Casual fans and newcomers can make a valid claim the album is rather insular, but they’re most likely not the target demographic. As the title suggests, the Golden Era may be long gone, but creative types will always find ways to incorporate certain elements into today’s material to keep pushing the art form forward.
its dope
This review is mad short.
It’s Omar Burgess….wtf do you expect? She’s TERRIBLE!
so so dope!
dopest album of the year (so far)!
this is real rap, real MCs, real beats, real lyrics.
DEATH TO MAINSTREAM CUNTS!
Your sure a fan of realness huh
My last pay check was $9500 working 12 hours a week online. My neighbour’s sister has been averaging 15k for months now and she works about 20 hours a week. I can’t believe how easy it was once I tried it out.
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It sounds like a bunch of random verses recorded through the internet over the cheapest beats they could find, I’m a fan of these guys generally on their own but whenever they do these AOTP albums it sounds like shit and this is the worst yet.
damn.. im a fan of the AOTP since “The Torture Papers”, every LP was dope but “In Death Reborn” was the first release which really disappointed, i love each artist: Vinnie, Celph, Apathy, Esoteric, Magnetic etc. but the only banger song is “God Particle”, for me.. thats it. Still deep respect and love
Agreed. The other albums are some of my favorites, was anticipating this one to be great and its just alright.
i actually really enjoyed this album.
A real hardcore banger!
3,5 stars? and that faggot 2Chainz gets 4 stars? HIPHOPDX doesnt love real hiphop they love faggot rap
awful review….this site is so inconsistent with reviews lately, this album delivered on all points.
I hate people who have such respect and loyalty to a sepcific rapper or hip-hop collective that NOT MATTER what they release, any critique of it is blasphemy. I’ve neither been a die hard fan nor hater of AOTP, I listen to their songs when their good. Their debut and sophomore album had some good tracks and were good overall but this album was weak. I didn’t even like God Particle, the only song I bought and put on my phone was Midnight Burial. Only good song IMO
Dope!!
Unfortunately, when you have as many members as AOTP dose i image it’s hard to get everyone together in the studio. With that said i see no artistic cohesiveness between verses. It gives the impression that they were all recorded separately, which is a sham”. Reef and Esoteric really stepped it up this album. e. When i listen to an album all the way through i’d like the artist to take me through a journey. Production wise it was a little above average,loved the production on “Azrael” and “Headless Rituals”. I would love to see more experimentation with their lyrics in terms of creating songs rather than the whole “punchline/im the best/metaphor/simile/etc.” formula. IMO they need to become more versatile with things like that.Favorite tracks are “Headless rituals”, “Ninkyo Dantia”, “Azreal”, and “Luxor Temple”. Overall 4/5.
yes, there are a lot of rappers in an AOTP dose
This is my least favourite album from the group. I didnt get much from it as I did with their previous releases. At best a 3.5/5 for me.
I couldn’t agree more. I was disappointed.
AOTP is currently the best crew in hip-hop consisting of legends. This album is straight fire!
This album was raw as hell.
rushed review
Raw af not one album this year has went as hard as AOTP
Who are these white fucks?
You are an idiot.
Big fan of aotp, this album is as good as their others for the most part. They always have 5 or 6 bangers and the rest of the songs are mediocre. Why are so many ppl saying this album sucks compared to the others? I like that they have added a more funky sound to their hard beats. Prime example is Luxor temple or visual camouflage. Both these sound like beats Rza concocted and both are dope.
ILL
Great album as a group. Some songs could be better. The review takes points off for the shot at current mainstream rap? GTFO. Everyone knows Drake is soft. Boxcutter Pazzy had a great verse on “Broken Safeties.”
That the same track where he gives a shout out to Raekwon and the Purple Tape? Paz is fucking dope!
Sick of doods talking about touching virgins and young girls, Dont these so called artists realize what they are saying, surely you would be the first to slap a child molester senseless, yet they say this bullshit to get a reaction. I love raw hardcore hiphop, but get your head out the gutter and uplift the people like real music is meant to.
sense when does hardcore rap ever do that fam? quit bitching about the artists and listen to the subject matter you want
I meant since so don’t give some smartass comment and really understand what im saying trick
dope
em fyi niggaz run dis rap ting not these white boys legends like rozay, drizzy, 50cent, the big homie jay z, 2chainz, meek millz, and juicy j and them niggaz fuck deez homophobic white boys ya feel me.
FYI lmao you sound like a faggot lol
yeh bitch u carry on with that hate speech imo you just in the closet and want 2 bum me so hard till u shoot ur load up my tight arse.
“homophobic” slurs are still and will always be the ultimate insult to a man.
your a fucking asshole……half the group is Black and Puerto Rican so what the fuck are you saying?
ANYTHING YOU SAY MEANS NOTHING TO REAL HIP HOP HEADS. Why? You just called 2 Chainz a legend! You called Rick Ross (the biggest fraud in hip hop ever) a legend! KILL YASELF, YOU RETARDED FAGGOT. Half of this group is Hispanic, some White, and some Black. You stupid cocksucker.
Did you just call that piece of shit two chainz a legend if you think hes good you should shove a horse sized dildo up your ass
I used to like Jedi Mind Tricks but without Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind this kind of rap doesn’t sound right to me. Best Jedi Mind Tricks album was Violent By Design. but I won’t lie now that im a bit older these guys just sound like a bunch of Big Pun wannabes
I don’t feel this album, because this is soulless…
Man, so many complainers on here. It sounds like the material goes over most of you all’s heads. The lyricism on this album is unbelievable. In a world where Hip Hop has been dumbed down and lost the consciousness and story telling, this was a breath of fresh air.
I love how you idiots keep saying White Boys this and that when Half the group is Black or Puerto Rican………do your research before you start making an ass out of yourself…….this album is good and anybody who thinks otherwise doesnt know good music
Aotp goes hard ayday all day
This album is a five star no question!!!!!
incredible….
How can anybody give this less than 5?! The lyricism must be going over your heads. A group like AOTP is leagues above any of the effeminate shit out right now. Take your favourite mainstream artist (except for Eminem) and you can apply Reef’s words: “A couple songs tight, but not ’cause you speaking on ’em/It’s ’cause the beat was bangin’ and had dope features on it/It’s Reefer on it, you got a rat’s spine, a chicken’s heart, and a weasel’s stomach/What are you?”
The beats aren’t good enough to be a 5, dummy.
Album of the year so far!!
I’m Feeling This…
Raw shit. Russia’s respecting it.
Dope!
Flat out hardest lyrics on any album ever start to finish
Cheesy ass shit….. Fake ass old ass white wu tang wanna bes
wanna…bees.
Badum-tschhh
I like drake and army of pharaohs.
good for you
Vinnie Paz is a faggot, He use to have a cool smooth flow now he’s a Big Pun wannabe.. no wonder Stoupe left hsi bitchass.
Wack
Esoterics is so garbage
you’re so garbage
I’m diggin’ it. AOTP, that’s my team.
Sorry not feeling this
This album is total garbage. Extremely WEAK beats, cheap and unprofessional-sounding production.
die
If you say this album sucks then your not listening to lyrics in your music…i prefer Intellectual/Cohesive Thought Patterns>Overpriced Synthesized Beats…this albums tough
not the best AOTP album but still pretty good.
Dope shit
Awesome album. Rating a 5, because nothing this dope has come out in any years surrounding this.
This whole album was fire.