After not releasing one of the best LP’s ever to not be
released in The Testament, Cormega has finally made his official
debut. On the surface Mega appears
to be your typical thugged out Queensbridge emcee but one thing is for sure,
his street credibility has never been in question. After a rough upbringing
that included watching his mother get murdered, Cormega turned to dealing crack which lead to him being shot and
going to prison. Mega‘s lifestyle is
extremely evident in his rhymes and with that being said it is obvious that he
is not rapping about anything we haven’t heard a million times. The difference
lies in the way he delivers his rhymes, he’s far more poetic than his
counterparts and he possesses tremendous story-telling and picture-painting
abilities.
With Havoc and Alchemist handling the majority of the album’s production I
shouldn’t have to tell you what kind of beats to expect. The album really takes
of after American Beauty, where Cormega takes you through hip hop’s
highs and lows over the years. Other standouts include Thun & Kicko with Prodigy
(who opens up the track with a Jay-Z
dis), The Saga and Get Out My Way. Both the Fallen Soldiers tracks are tight, the
original uses an old Jay-Z beat. The
icing on the cake is Unforgiven which
sounds so much like an old DJ Muggs
beat that it is scary.
It is difficult to get through one song without hearing at least one subliminal
dis directed at Nas. Seriously, just
about every track has at least one shot at him, others like Get Out My Way are full out dis songs.
All in all this album was a very pleasant surprise. I copped this album because
of Mega‘s nice representation on Hi-Teknology and because I have always
loved his voice. I did not expect to hear probably one of the ten best albums
of this year (top 20 for sure). Be on the look out.
