Customer Reviews

Soundbombing 2

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the 2nd Soundbombing CD by Rawkus and comparing it with the very well organized first Soundbombing...this one is even better, actually it's one of the best compilations I've ever heard...

With an all-star hiphop cast including: Common, Talib Kweli & Hitek, Pharoahe Monch, Eminem, and Mos Def. It even has some lesser known artists a chance to shine too...

The production, MCing, and DJing through out this whole CD is excellent and yet again shows us WHAT RAP IS SUPPOSED TO BE...not showin off your cash or rappin about how many drugs/hoes you've gone thru in a day...

Pharoahe Monch, Company Flow, and Common are what captured me most on this CD: Monch's explosive "WWIII" and good story on "Mayor" , Comp Flow's EL-P tells a very evil yet true story about the U.S.'s policies on "Patriotism" , and Com's hypnotizing "1-9-9-9"...

PRETTY MUCH EVERY TRACK ON THIS RELEASE WAS EXCELLENT... with a couple exceptions: RA Rugged Man's "Stanley Kubrick" just plain sucked, even though I like Dilated Peoples they just didn't sound good this time on their track "Soundbombing" , Thirstin Howl III had a nice verse but the rest of his track was nausiating "Brooklyn Hard Rock" , and Diamond D "When It Pours It Rains" put me to sleep...

This is probably one of Rawkus's best releases because it showcases so many dope MCs to get into... for example I got into Talib Kweli after I bought this and now Talib's one of my favorite MCs...

basically any CD by Rawkus is good because its REAL hiphop from the heart... xcept Lyricist Lounge Vol 2 (that one's not good)

Speakin my mind...

To that idiot who professed that Rawkus is becoming the next Bad Boy, that this album is the underground's attempt to become commercial, that "Soundboming" isn't even Underground, that Atlanta doesn't know Hip-hop, wa wa wa wa, You're like the snooty intellectual who read lots of contemporary, cutting-edge philosophy but doesn't know Plato from Aristotle. Hip-hop started out in the park, kids rhyming about life, politics and trying to escape the horrors of everyday life...but you wouldn't know that. You probably don't know who Slick Rick, Cee-Lo, Kool Herc or what "Free Israel" is. In the end, Soundbombing captures all of that innocence, naivety and genius. Because whether it's commercial or not, Soundboming is brilliant, from the first scratch to last puttering rhyme.

When I first heard this album here, I thought it was a tight compliation and gave this a 5 star rating (10 out of 10)(My older review will remain on the reissue of this album). After about 4 of 5 spins I began to see the flaws in this album. First a lot of the members don't bring their A game behind the mic. For example: On The High And Mighty's "B-Boy Document 99", Mr. Eon gets outshined by the guests on that song, in this case Mos Def, and Mad Skillz. Diamond D on the song "When It Pours, It Rains" doesn't come off as strong as I heard him on his solo albums. Also I like the beat on that song, but unfortunately is short. The thing that makes me angry is that Jon Doe produced the track, and there is a rare 12" version where he rhymes making it a full length song, instead of some minute and something short track.


Okay, enough griping. Now for the good stuff. Other artists do bring their A game though. The most rememberable song is the Eminem "Any Man". Other artists that shine are R.A. The Rugged Man on the song "Stanley Kubrick", Dilated Peoples on the song "Soundbombing", as well as the hit single on this comp, "1-9-9-9" by Common and Sadat X, just to name a few. Other artists that appear on this are Medina Green, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Pharohe Monch, Company Flow, Sir Menelik, Grand Puba, and more. There are many other dope tracks that I recommend that you should check out. If you like compilation albums, then this one is perfect for you.

Lyrics: A-
Production: A
Guest Appearances: A-
Overall: A-

My favorite songs: Any Man, WW III, Stanley Kubrick, Crosstown Beef, Chaos, Soundbombing, Patriotism, 1999, Every Rhyme I Write

Chandler (The Infamous) and I'm out. Peace!

Once again, another fine mixtape courtesy of the late Rawkus Records (late because Kweli's the only artist still on). Before rap became permanently commercial, "Soundbombing vol. 2" was released at the highest point of the rap revivalist movement. DJ's J-Rocc and Babu aka the Bumrush Brothers seamlessly blend various 12" releases like they was born with it, also including the clever idea of putting an instrumental (featuring underground legends giving shout-outs) before the actual song, and scratch the mess out of it with other samples. Like any mixtape for the streets, there are no sweet tracks on this album. For the whole spin, this album is rough and rugged (giving you various images of stories and neighborhoods from New York to LA); beats are dusty to the break and the rhymes are top notch. The highlight tracks are the trancendent "1-9-9-9" with Common and Sadat X, July 4th celebration "Next Universe" with Mos Def, a mystic track "Chaos" with Reflection Eternal and Bahamadia, the caper "Crosstown Beef" with Mos' crew Medina Green, the short but gutter "Brooklyn Hard Rock" with Thirstin Howl III, and last but not least, the banger "Every Rhyme I Write" feat Smif-N-Wessun (aka Cocca Brovaz) and Shabaam Sadeeq. Further guest appearances are Grand Puba, Sir Menelik, Pharaohe Monch, Eminem, Skilz, Dialated Peoples, Tash, The High and Mighty, and Company Flow. If you claim you underground (I mean, below the subway underground), cop this. If you love hip-hop in its purest form, COP THIS!!!!!!!

Soundbombing 2 is a great mix tape. It's definitely a great introduction for those looking for a wide variety of quality underground (and some above ground) hip hop. The mix of beats and differently styled lyricists on this album are stellar. Ra the Rugged Man's "Stanley Kubrick" and Pharoah Monche's "Mayor" bring together the hardest and roughest tracks on the album, while Mos Def, Q-Tip, and others bring together the more laid back side of the album. Two of the most notable tracks include Company Flow's intensly anti-American "Patriotism", which packs a mean abstract beat and some hot lyrics, and Thirstin Howl III's "Brooklyn Hard Rock", which shows off the MC's unique rapping skills. I recommend this album to all those who appreciate hip-hop. Cop it now!!

First off this is an overated yet must have album. I say it's overated because people speek on it like tracks 1-26 are perfect, such is not the case. I say it's a must have because of tracks like b-boy document, 7xl, chaos, brooklyn hard rock, mayor, patriotism, 1-9-9-9, next universe, and on mission. To me the best track is mayor by pharoahe monch, the beat is hectic his delivery is at it's best and the lyrics are vitious yet with meaning. Patriotism by company flow is a great political song with the unorthodox style co-flow presents along with the insightful lyrics. B-boy document has one of the best beats ever that's why it's up there. The two tracks with reflection eternal are extremely melodic and talib comes off how you'd expect him to, pretty good. 7xl by menelik, puba, and sadat is a track that makes you nod your head, along with 1-9-9-9 by common and sadat. There are probably a few good tracks i forgot but there are also a few not so good tracks that i'll just leave out. For the good tracks this is still a must have.

Finally! A rap CD that doesn't sell out like Puffy, or No Limit, or even those waste-of-my-time-no-talent-having Cash Money Losers. What makes this album the best record of 1999? First of all, the list of rappers, from the mighty Mos Def to Grand Puba to Eminem. All of the lyricists on this album can flat out throw down, which is a lost art in rap nowadays. The second reason is the beats. Hard core beats for the true hard core fan out there. And last, but not least is the production by the Beatjunkies. J-roc and Babu weave all the songs together in such a way thats its impossible to stop this CD once it gets going, it just flows so well.

So, in conclusion. This is a must buy.

First off, the lyrics are dope. Heads looking for mental stimulation amid verbal creativity will not be disappointed by the likes of Monch, Mos Def, Kweili, Bahamadia, MNM, Diamond D, Sadat X ... and the list goes on. You learn to expect a lot from these folks here.

But the genius of the album is in the production and mixing. I knew DJ Hi-Tek was nice after hearing the BlackStar LP. Here, he cements his genius with a philosophical sound on Common's "1-9-9-9." Da Beatminerz give Eminem a dope loop for "Any Man." And I don't know who Lee Stone is, but he also offers brilliance on "WWIII" and "Mayor." But the REAL stroke of genius occurred when Rawkus enlisted J-Rocc and Babu to create an intro and mix the songs. I can't say enough about these two and the entire Beat Junkies crew. You haven't heard beat juggling till you've heard this intro. And the breakdowns between some of the tracks will make your neck spasm. If you like this joint, check J-Rocc's mix for "Walkman Rotation," a collection of Conception singles and "The World Famous Beat Junkies, Vol 3" mixed by Melo-D. Those two joints along with Soundbombing2 should rank near the top of any hip hop fan's collection.

Man, if there was any kind of compilation album to get, this is it. They have the World Famous Beat Junkies on the Ones and two's doing a great job, man it felt as if you were listening to a mix show with great underground hip hop. Now the line up, great, if not better than the first ( which the first had an allstar lineup.) Having Eminem spit fire on Any Man over a dope beat was just sick, which was nice to see Slim Shady from his underground days before he put out the wack My Name is. Man, B-Boy document was just plain hot. A line up of Mos Def, Mad Skillz (or now known just as Skillz) team up with High and Mighty was nice. It was nice to see Pharoahe Monch on the mic on Mayor and WW III. Shabaam tore it up on Every Rhyme I Write and WWIII. I loved the Reflection Eternal songs, but since when did Reflection Eternal not come out with good songs. Common and Sadat X came correct on the mic on 1999. The only complaint I had was Diamond D. Man, the beat on When It Pours It Rains was just nice, but Diamond, quotes "The ice on my wrist makes the honey's eye's squint." Or " I want boats and planes, Ice ropes and chains" type of lines was just weird for a pioneer in hip hop to say. I guess his buddy and partner Fat Joe from Diggin in the Crates is getting to him. This same song is in Roc Raida's Crossfadaz cd, titled MC 2 which has the same verses as Soundbombing's but has John Doe trading the mic with Diamond in the Crossfadaz version. I wish they used that version because John Doe's verse was tight and definitely drowned out some of the wack lines Diamond put in. RA kind of turned me off with "We smackin B**ches by the hundreds." in Stanley Kubrick, but hey, that beat was just sick. Those were the only complaints with a strong album that ranges from artists like Eminem to Medina Green to Cocoa B's to the Mighty Mos. Beats are just plain nice, so it goes well with the Soundbombing title. All the lyrics are top notched, minus Ra and Diamond, but they are good mc's so I'm glad they are on this. This is a classic, so anybody that's a real hip hop fan, you need to have this.

The turntable skills of Babu and J-Rocc set the expectations high, and this doesnt dissapoint. As its previous offering, this is alot deeper then your average mix tape. The juggles and scratches all compliment and fit in to the whole package. Every track is top shelf, and this number reminds heads why we love hip hop!. You gotta listen to it end to end, cause its like one big dope ass track!