Customer Reviews

Four Horsemen

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...and that was how many years ago?

A hip hop power trio that is Kool Keith, Ced Gee, and DJ Moe Love. This album came out years ahead of its time. "They sound kinda crazy, Kool Keith is a psycho, Ced Gee is a scientist, the lyrics are hypo..." The production is raw Delta four track. The beats, loops, and musical tangents are amazing. And the rhymes are so hilarious, I'm still bouncing quotes off fellow Ultramagnetic fans all over the world. I love Kool Keith in all his solo guises, but his performance on Four Horsemen is so near and dear to my heart that it's hard beat as a sentimental favorite. Especially when you have Ced balancing out the mix with his understated monotone baritone style.

Oh yeah, and Godfather Don's cameo is nice.

Lyrical subject matter on Four Horesmen is miles beyond what they had done in the past on albums like "Funk Up Your Head" and even "Critical Beatdown" (though I'll be quick to point out that that album is a classic in own rights for different reasons). Of course, there's a cubic ton of excellent boasting, bragging, and dissing, and Ultramagnetic style spawned all kinds of imitators...Doodoo disses started with Kool Keith...Mocking R&B hits...Arena rock fantasy intros...Star Trek style as done here, has been copied, but to date, not topped...And I've never heard hip hop with so many great baseball references. "The Saga of Dandy, The Devil, and Day" is even an entire tribute to the Negro Leagues. Albums like this, tight from start to finish, are hard to come by.

What makes this album classic? (No particular order): Raise it Up. Two Brothers With Checks. One Two, One Two. Checkin' My Style brings in the old hot jazz bisquits with a little bit of that blues butter. We Are the Horesmen (enter your spaceship!!).

Ah, man. Just talking about these songs...I gotta go put it on.

Just remember this: Whole world...down with the horsemen.

Great record.

Two albums under their belt, Ultramagnetic MC's drops their third album together called "The Four Horsemen". On many levels, this can be neck and neck when compared to their classic debut "Critical Beatdown", because they still keep things funky as usual. I haven't heard their second album "Funk Your Head Up" yet, so I really can't say if it's a step up from that album or a step down from that.

There are a few major changes on this album than their first. The obvious change is Ced Gee's voice. It's gotten way deeper than it was on "Critical Beatdown". At first I didn't even notice it was him rhyming until about half way into the album. It's not a bad thing, it actually sounds better. Second is Kool Keith and Ced Gee's rhyme style has changed. It is real hard to notice at first, but listening to this multipule times, you'll pick it up.

As for the songs themselves, they're near perfect. Kool Keith aims at other rappers who overuse old musical samples from legends saying "I don't need Zapp, I don't need Anthrax". Ced Gee would pull a sequel to Critical Beatdown with his song "Delta Force II" which I think is better than the first one. Keith and Ced would get togther to do some tracks on the album together. "The Saga Of Dandy, The Devil, & Day" is a dedication to the Negro Legue baseball. They also manage to keep things funky with the songs "Two Brothers With Checks" and "We Are The Horsemen" and the sex cut "Big Booty".

Most of the production is kept within the Ultramagnetic fam. Some of the tracks were produced by Godfather Don, who does the last verse on "Raise It Up". Moe Luv does a good job scratching in the samples in most songs, and he gets his own solo cut on "Adventures Of Herman's Lust". TR Love holds down the piano and the percussion which makes a nice addition towards the album.

The only small problem that I have is the Kool Keith song "One Two, One Two". I personally just wasn't feeling that one.

Overall, I enjoyed this album. Each member doesn't dissapoint on this album. Unfortunately, this was the last album that they made before the group split up, and all those basement mixtapes surfaced. Like I said before, I believe it's on the same level with "Critical Beatdown" but with a more '93 flavor. If you're a Kool Keith/Ultramagnetic fan, I recommend this one to you. Unfortunately this one is out of print (like everything made by Wild Pitch Records). I was able to find a copy for less than $10, good condition, but to some people, it's worth the search.

Lyrics: A
Production: A+
Musical Vibes: A+
Overall A

My favorite Tracks: Two Brothers With Checks (San Franscisco, Harvey), Raise It Up, Saga Of Dandy, The Devil, & Day, Ced Gee (Delta Force II), Don't Be Scared, Time To Catch A Body, Big Booty

Honorable Menton Track: Checkin' My Style

Fantastic album. I bought this album when in came out back in 1993 and never stopped listening to it. Tim Westwood would play it non-stop on the Capital Rap Show weeks before it came out. So many great songs from start to finish. This is also one of the first albums to successfully use live instruments and make them sound like samples. Pure funky rap music and phenomenal lyrics from Kool Keith (check out his verse on Raise It Up - out of this world).

Its a shame these four guys (Kool Keith, Ced Gee, Moe Luv and TR Love) never got the props they deserved and never made another album together, because this group was one of Hip-Hops most original and most finest.

they defenitely stepped their game up on lyrics, production, and subject matters,like for example the song Saga Of Dandy The Devil, The Devil & Day, they talk about negro league baseball and thats very original cause nobody else rapped about that, very original, but to me the stand out tracks on this album to me are raise it up and see the man on the street just because those are my favorite songs, but the rest of the songs are good, its just those two that are the best songs on the album.

This album shows Ultra moving forward in time once again. Ced GEe Delta Force Two is just as funky as the first one. this whole album is a must have for the old school rapp.

The Ultramagneitc MC's Four Horsemen is like it's counterpart Critical Beatdown, in the fact it's ultramodern sound practically runs circles around other hip-hop albums, leaving the competition in the dust. However, it's not as groundbreaking, and lacks that element that made Critical Beatdown so damn attention-grabbing.

On the bright side of things, nonetheless, this is an Ultramagnetic MC's album, and is worth every penny you pay for it. Each and every track has a different concept, except for the repetitive baseball references, which turn out to be a great addition to the album's overall value. When comparing Four Horsemen to Critical Beatdown, it seems as if Kool Keith takes a couple of steps back, but has Nas ever topped Illmatic? Has Krs-One topped Return of the Boom Bap? Didn't think so. Overall, great album.

Ultra comes back after a lukewarm acceptance from fans from there "funk your head up" album.

On the production tip each track hits hard and funky in the pocket. No recycled break beats or loops on this album. All the grooves are funk chops, brought to you by Ced-Gee, T.R. and Dj moe Love.

on the lyrical tip Ultra is back on the space scientific abstract street flow!

Kool keith is once again innovating on rhyme schems like on "one two one two" where he says each word twice over a funky track.

Ced-Gee returns and gets "superbionic" on tunes like "we are the horseman" and "bring it down to earth" with an off beat flow that unicates every other syllable.

As a whole this album is a classic return to true hip hop with dope beats and boasting and bragging rhymes that every true mc fan loves to hear.

Peace!

Marc Davis

This album is mad underrated. Of course not as good as critical beatdown, but a classic none the less. Production is classic early-90's NY *hit, and Ced and Keith are on point on the mic...

My brothers and I thought that this was there best LP. I think it was just a production preference because Critical Beatdown is ranked highly by us all. Overall there is nothing missin from this album. The lyrical skills by all are dope and like I was sayin earlier the beats are our favorite they've ever done.

Two albums under their belt, Ultramagnetic MC's drops their third album together called "The Four Horsemen". On many levels, this can be neck and neck when compared to their classic debut "Critical Beatdown", because they still keep things funky as usual. I haven't heard their second album "Funk Your Head Up" yet, so I really can't say if it's a step up from that album or a step down from that.

There are a few major changes on this album than their first. The obvious change is Ced Gee's voice. It's gotten way deeper than it was on "Critical Beatdown". At first I didn't even notice it was him rhyming until about half way into the album. It's not a bad thing, it actually sounds better. Second is Kool Keith and Ced Gee's rhyme style has changed. It is real hard to notice at first, but listening to this multipule times, you'll pick it up.

As for the songs themselves, they're near perfect. Kool Keith aims at other rappers who overuse old musical samples from legends saying "I don't need Zapp, I don't need Anthrax". Ced Gee would pull a sequel to Critical Beatdown with his song "Delta Force II" which I think is better than the first one. Keith and Ced would get togther to do some tracks on the album together. "The Saga Of Dandy, The Devil, & Day" is a dedication to the Negro Legue baseball. They also manage to keep things funky with the songs "Two Brothers With Checks" and "We Are The Horsemen" and the sex cut "Big Booty".

Most of the production is kept within the Ultramagnetic fam. Some of the tracks were produced by Godfather Don, who does the last verse on "Raise It Up". Moe Luv does a good job scratching in the samples in most songs, and he gets his own solo cut on "Adventures Of Herman's Lust". TR Love holds down the piano and the percussion which makes a nice addition towards the album.

The only small problem that I have is the Kool Keith song "One Two, One Two". I personally just wasn't feeling that one.

Overall, I enjoyed this album. Each member doesn't dissapoint on this album. Unfortunately, this was the last album that they made before the group split up, and all those basement mixtapes surfaced. Like I said before, I believe it's on the same level with "Critical Beatdown" but with a more '93 flavor. If you're a Kool Keith/Ultramagnetic fan, I recommend this one to you. Unfortunately this one is out of print (like everything made by Wild Pitch Records). I was able to find a copy for less than $10, good condition, but to some people, it's worth the search.

Lyrics: A
Production: A+
Musical Vibes: A+
Overall A

My favorite Tracks: Two Brothers With Checks (San Franscisco, Harvey), Raise It Up, Saga Of Dandy, The Devil, & Day, Ced Gee (Delta Force II), Don't Be Scared, Time To Catch A Body, Big Booty