In today’s world where Rap is stereotyped as fun centered around partying and lavish fantasy, cherished gems about troubled life such as Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s “The Message” wouldn’t stand a chance. Ugly Heroes is comprised of producer Apollo Brown and emcees Red Pill & Verbal Kent, all known for prior underground pursuits now uniting to save souls as their name suggests. Fleshing out a theme less explored in modern Hip Hop, the trio’s self-titled opus responds to an increasingly unstable social climate where they seek much needed refuge from the daily grind.
Updating the creative formula of El-P and Cannibal Ox’s The Cold Vein, Ugly Heroes brings Detroit’s Apollo Brown and Red Pill together with Chicago representative Verbal Kent to process the harsh realities of their hometowns. A primarily abysmal depiction of circumstance, “Desperate” deals with contemplation of suicide as Red Pill explains, “The mind wanders when you’re poverty stricken / And only hope you’re holding onto is a lottery ticket.” Meanwhile, “Long Drive Home” finds them struggling to maintain sanity amongst the same conditions of “Graves” which expresses high resentment towards the workforce and being in debt. The pair battle against their own insecurities and a grim outlook, unlikely inspirations to the layman searching for light at the end of the tunnel.
Though mainly carrying the weight of giving a voice to suffering, Ugly Heroes offers slight reprieves and a glimmer of hope, so as to not wind up a depressing experience. The hard laced “Heart And Soul” combines the album’s gritty feel with a touch of romance, and “Just Relax” is a rare calm moment where Red Pill and Verbal Kent build up a confidence that fully takes over on the closing track “Push.” These selections balance out the heavier material just a bit, as the project would become otherwise unbearable.
On the production end, Apollo Brown serves as a perfect foil with gloomy beats that channel matching energy from Red Pill and Verbal Kent’s dark recesses. Altogether Ugly Heroes is a cohesive and moving effort presumably designed to help listeners overcome hurdles, a narrative that ultimately aims to be greater than wallowing within the status quo. At times tough to digest, the group risks alienating more than they invite anyone brave enough to be influenced by their story.
Diggin The Sound Of This Album.
Grown Man HipHop.
Love this album!
Dope
Consistency
Apollo always dilivers man!!!!The album is really dope!!!
As always Apollo Brown makes classics. The brother Verbal Kent did a Great Job with this project! Red Pill close this Ugly Heroes as is proper! Good shit!
One of the best producers out there
Pretty sweet, got nothing on Daily Bread thoguh
A fantastic start from Ugly Hero’s, Apollo Browns smooth grooves enhance the rappers piercing voices to bring you nothing short of a fantastic hip hop album.
Flawless as usual with Apollo…this man rules real Hip Hop from the soul right now
Classic,1 of the best albums you’ll ear this year,no doubt!!
In a sentence, this album presents an active, neck jerking experience that promotes replay!
Nah, Red Pill’s solo > this.
Am listening to this album right now and can’t even stop. Its amazing how Apollo Brown keeps growing and these ugly Heroes are on fire. But wait I have not seen Curly Castro’s Fidel album review here, why? cause that’s the first great album of 2013. Can’t wait to see if Kanye ,J.cole,wale or Schoolboy Q will beat curly Castro or even demigodz .Damn Desperate and Good Things Die go hard.
HHDX seriously fucking up a review once again.. this is a well put together album front to back, lyrically and production wise…. This is what an album is s’posed to sound like… Apollo Brown producer of the year two years running?
I have a love/hate relationship with Apollo Brown. Dude is the only cat in the game that can get away with making the same beat over and over. Yet I still rock with him. The cohesion he brings to a record is always super dope though. He definitely sticks with what he knows, but how long will he be able to do this shit? I mean a 3 year old can spot an Apollo Brown beat. As someone who has his whole catalog, I hope he can evolve beyond what I’ve heard before i get bored. With that being said…this album goes still. Guess I’m not quite sick of him yet.
I have to agree with guy below(anonymous). Apollo Brown’s beats are easy to spot but how is it possible that they don’t irritate me and the reason is that they sound classic though sometimes I feel like they will damage my bass.
He doesn’t have any individual beat that bothers me, just his catalog as a whole. Cats are so quick to call producers boring in hip-hop, yet dood always gets off scot-free. Doesn’t really matter to me because that’s the way it should be. If someone is doing good shit and they stay in their lane, what’s wrong with that? But cats get shit on for it anyway….not Apollo Brown somehow. Dude got teflon coated skin.
This album ressurrects HipHop … these guys are in the same class as Dilated Peoples and to me they are poets and this is a classic album
If you’re a TRUE Hip-Hop fanatic, this is a must-have! Tell your friend’s friends about it while also making sure you BUY the album whenever you’re able to do so. Salute to Apollo Brown, Red Pill, Verbal Kent, AND Mello Music Group for releasing AN INSTANT CLASSIC!!!
Unacceptable review. This album is 4.5 minimum. Dope as fxxx.
Realy 3./5. I agree with Prokeezy This album is 4.5 minimum!
DOPE
I don’t often buy music, but I ponied up the bucks for this. Listening to it going on 6 times consecutive now. This is a must-have!
Every good hero needs a theme song!!!
its every hood nigga…….u got the clean version
the beats always sounding same with this son apollo, time to renew?
YES, YES, YES!!! Way past time. For cats that know his music, dude is starting to get boring. For people that don’t know, every time they hear it, they say classic. If i could erase the memory of every Apollo Brown joint after I listen to it, that’d be great. Because every record he’s done is near classic…..if you’ve never heard his beats before.
I co-sign both comments.
I still didn’t listen to this album but I had the same opinion about his latest projects.
I liked The Left album and Trophies and I admit I was one of those who used to say things like “That’s the new 9th Wonder, the next Large Pro, Pete Rock, Premier)”. But after Trophies everything produced by him sounds boring as hell. No matter if he got Ghostface Killah(Twelve reasons to die) or Has Lo over his beats…
It’s the same thing that happened to 9th Wonder in my opinion.
I think Apollo is on a WHOLE NOTHA LEVEL of monotony than 9th Wonder. People can say 9th has boring beats(which i disagree with) but at least his shits didn’t sound exactly the same.
SO TRUE
This album is dope as hell. Definitely one of the better releases so far this year.
Good Album. 4/5
Another fuckin’ classic from Apollo. Consistent as hell. Yall say the same thing that everyone says about DJ Premier and 9th Wonder. Where are they? Longevity in the game. Can’t please everyone. As soon as he changes his style up, you’ll get mad that he changed his style up, lol. If you don’t like it, don’t listen. Simple.
Great album !
Dopeness, front to back.
Dope album and epic beats!!!
Every year Apollo Brown provides production to a classic, one of the most consistent.
Very dope
Great album, on point from start to finish in spite of what the flakey review says. Apollo always on point. Red Pill, I saw this dude coming from a mile away 2 years ago. Definitely a exposure project for Red and a classic for all three. 5/5 fuck the reviewer.
Downloaded just because high-rated here on HHDX. Well done. Amazing album.
Smooth classic album genuine to their own sound.
dope….
Red Pill is daf
5 Stars!
Dope Album
had this on repeat, doper everytime i listen !
Great work that speaks to the reality of most artists in the genre..braver for the content and more lyrically skilled than most! It’s weird to think this might alienate people when the US has record unemployment, lack of health care, near-comical gap between wealthy and poor. If anything, raps about wealth should alienate the average listener.
Agreed
You nailed it. There is a lot of substance in this album. The delivery may lack in certain aspect, but beat-wise & lyrically-wise, it there is almost nothing like it so for in 2013.
Not feeling the MCs and neither the beats on this one.
not as good as i thought it be
PRODUCTION:
THE BROWN TAPE>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>UGLY HEROES
ofc an album by a bunch of nobodies gets the top rated. These nerds in hiphop try to act cool by supporting a bunch of nobodies online but they all know deep down that no1 will reach drakes sucess right now drake runs rap.
lol get off the mans dick
garbagio.
Not being familiar with either rapper, but being a massive Apollo fan I grabbed this on release date and I’ve been impressed. It’s not lyrically on the level of Daily Bread or the Left’s Gas Mask but it’s a heartfelt, honest assessment of today’s culture. Issues like alcoholism, success and family are touched on, as well as plain old hip hop braggadocio about rocking the crowd right. It’s hard to find these types of albums, yes – but they ARE there.
Great Album!
good ol boom bap…..
prolly the realest shit I heard in awhile.
Okay I guess 4/5
Class
qkfhegrbrgrqhthj46oiu4w6jurhnhkjnbdskbvaorgbp4#qyi
YES!!!!!!!!!(__________________________(#)~
Fantastic – Indeed it may be somewhat of a loss to many but die hard, substance hungry hip-hop headz will be allotting a space for it in there top ten of 2013…if not top 3!
It’s July & I’m still listening. In my top 5 for 2013 for sure!
great album ! one love
One of the best underground albums I have ever heard.
this is incredible. Love real hip that talks about real issues that affect real people.
Awesome album all the way through
For me thats the album of ’13
music from daily struggles and the search for identity, surely straight from the seeds of the medium. Excellent work.
So dope, none of this fake gangsta shit just the truth, the honesty of everyday life. This is rap
Just awesome!