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This album was released on March 11th in 2003. The real reason that I started that El-P Marathon was so that I could review all the Run The Jewels projects. I’ll be listening to all of El-P’s projects, along with all of Killer Mike’s projects, in chronological order. This was Killer Mike’s first album, after debuting as a feature on Outkast’s 2000 album, Stankonia. I don’t really have much to say before listening to this shit. I’m expecting it to be dope. I’m not really sure what the reception was like. Aside from R.A.P. Music, I never really hear anyone talking about Killer Mike’s solo albums. I don’t know if it’s because they aren’t good or if people just haven’t listened to them. I guess I’m about to find out…

Track 1: Monster (Intro) Feat. Big Rube [Prod. Swiffman]

What the hell? Is that Big Rube? Or… Who the fuck is that? Is that Killer Mike? Man… I really don’t know. Whoever it is sounds Southern as a motherfucker tho. Like, this sounds like country ass Alabama redneck shit. The voice kinda sounds like Big Rube, but he’s never had such a severe accent as far as I can remember. The light piano keys in the background sound nice. This accent is so over the top. At first I couldn’t tell if it was a Southern accent or a British accent, which is crazy because those are pretty much opposites. It just ended… Damn. Okay, that WAS Big Rube. The fuck? Why did… Why? Why did he have that accent? I know that shit wasn’t real. He’s never sounded like that before. Whatever. It doesn’t really matter. It just kinda through me off. Anyway, I liked this track. It’s not the kinda thing I’d listen to more than once since I don’t really enjoy Spoken Word that way, but I think it’s good. I won’t be rating it since it isn’t an actual song tho.

Track 2: Monster (Prod. Mr. DJ)

Alright, here we go. He’s rapping his ass off. This beat is fucking awesome. Gotdamn. This is crazy. Lmao. I’m so happy right now. He’s fucking spazzing on this shit. This is so crazy. It’s so over the top. It’s really fast paced, and energetic. He really sounds like a monster on this shit. The hook is simplistic, but his explosive delivery makes it really entertaining. “I’M THA MONSTER / I’M YOUR SICK AND TWISTED MONSTER.” He fucking slaughtered this track. I love this beat too. It’s so energetic. This song just sounds gigantic. It’s loud as hell. In a good way tho. It’s not annoying. Jesus. This was a fantastic way to open the album up. He was rappin’ his motherfuckin’ ass off. Gotdamn. Lmao. I definitely fuck with this shit. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 3: Akshon (Yeah!) Feat. Outkast [Prod. Andre 3000]

Okay, here we go. Woah… Man, this beat is weird. Oh fuuuck. Lmao. This is fucking awesome. The drum pattern was kinda weird to me at first, but once more instruments come in this shit is fantastic. Andre put his ass in this beat. This is dope af. Killer Mike is so fucking aggressive. I love it. “K-I-L-L / This is the name that came to alter the game / Not like these rappers who spit it the same / Separate lames from they chain.” His delivery is on point. Mike killed that first verse. The hook is dope. Mike’s goin’ in again. Wait a minute… No… Are you… Are you fuckin’ shitting me? I swear to God if they count that four bar intro from Andre as his feature I will be fucking LIVID. Just kidding I won’t actually be that mad. I’ll be slightly annoyed tho. The second verse was great. Oh what? WHAT? The song just ended. What the fuck? Is this a fuckin’ joke? Big Boi said 16 separate words on this track. I counted them. He’s on the hook. He doesn’t even do the entire hook; Killer Mike does half of it. “Feat. Outkast” my ASS. We got four bars from Andre and half a hook from Big Boi. Fuck you. Whatever. I still think this is a great song. Killer Mike held this shit down by himself. Outkast was completely unnecessary on this shit, but I’m sure Mike just threw them on so people would be more interested. Whatever. The shit’s still dope af. 5/5

Track 4: Rap Is Dead (Prod. Grover Dill & Scott Fargus)

This beat is dope af. Holy shit… “Fuck Rap; Rap’s near-death, bloated, and sick / Too many niggas still ride Big and Pac’s dicks / Fuck that; next year they more deader / And I write more rhymes, more deadly, and more better.” Damn. At first I thought he was saying that he was better than Pac & Biggie, but then he followed it up with “Than the last sick and disturbed verse I wrote / And sell it to tough teenage boys to quote.” I’m not crazy about this hook, but the beat is great & I love the aggressive lyricism. He’s sounds so fuckin’ angry. The second verse is dope af. “Musical methamphetamine for teens / Nightmares comin’, crushing your fuckin’ dreams; ultra-shock / Rap rock, bringin’ the bars back to rock and hip-hop / Spit it venom non-stop.” This dude is fucking ripping these verses apart. The final verse was fantastic too. Jesus Christ this dude is a monster lmao. I definitely fuck with this track. I wasn’t in love with the hook, but the verses were more than enough to make up for it. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 5: Scared Straight (Prod. Swiffman)

This beat is dope. The female vocals on the hook sound really good too. Okay, now he’s gettin’ political. I’m pretty sure he’s about to go in about being incarcerated for something he didn’t do. Oh shit. Never mind. It sounds like he WAS selling drugs… The first verse was cool. Forget that shit I said about him getting political. This is a typical Hip Hop song about selling drugs. You know, this song REALLY isn’t bad at all, but it’s not really doing anything for me. I mean, the beat’s cool, and the hook wasn’t bad, but… Eh… It’s just not that fuckin’ good. I guess I also just wasn’t that interested in the subject matter. This isn’t a bad song, but I’m not gonna be coming back to this. It’s alright. 3/5

Track 6: All 4 U (Niecy’s Song) [Prod. Cool & Dre]

This beat is cool. Okay, he’s starting to ease up on the aggression. Killer Mike referred to this song as a “poor people’s anthem.” I don’t think I can come up with a better description than that. He’s rapping about being poor. “Sisters, I know it seems we’re total fuck ups, but hold your head up / We’re slippin’, we fallin’, but we gon’ get up / And we gon’ get this life together / I’ll make you a wife and make it better.” This is dope. That second verse was great. The first verse was cool, but he didn’t really go into very much detail about anything. The second verse was a lot better. The third verse is starting now. Damn. That verse was fantastic. “I was born to marry thought with a paper and pen / Wasn’t born to be on paper or locked in a pen / I was born to bring honor to this brown skin / Mama, I’m your son, and you’re my best friend / Wipe your tears away, just hide it with a graceful grin / I made good, and you’ll never have to hurt again.” Shit brings a motherfuckin’ tear to my eye. I think I’m gonna go with a 4 on this one. The verses were fantastic. I enjoyed the song, but I’m not really blown away by it sonically. I fuck with this shit tho. This is dope to me. 4/5

Track 7: A.D.I.D.A.S. Feat. Big Boi & Sleepy Brown (Prod. Mr. DJ)

Uh oh… I don’t know if I’m gonna like this song. The features look promising, but y’all know I don’t like songs about sex… A.D.I.D.A.S. stands for “All Day I Dream About Sex.” There’s a fucking God awful song called A.D.I.D.A.S. by a shitty Nu Metal band called Korn. Who the fuck listens to Korn lmao. Why the fuck are they called Korn? Hahahaha. You know how people always say Eminem makes school shooter music? Korn makes school shooter music. Lmao. Fucking Korn. Hahahahaha. Sorry. I’m being mean. Maybe they’re not as bad as I think they are, but from what I’ve heard they’re trash. Wait a minute… Why the fuck am I talking about this? The fuck? Jesus. I got sidetracked so fucking hard. Alright, lemme just go ahead and start this shit. Uuuuh… Lmao. Nah. I’m not feelin’ this beat. Oh God… This hook. No. What the fuck is this? What… The fuck? Why does it sound like it could be the soundtrack to a fuckin’ Rugrats feature film or something? Big Boi’s goin’ in on the first verse now. His flow is real nice on this shit. The lyrics… Not so much. He just sounds creepy as hell to be honest. This hook… I uh… I want to turn this song off. Lmao. At least they have really dope flows. Alright, the second verse just ended. Do I… Do I have to keep listening? I feel like I’ve pretty much gotten all the information I need. I doubt anything in the last minute and a half of this song is gonna change my opinion. This shit is wack af to me. 1/5

Track 8: Creep Show Feat. Bizarre (Prod. Mr. DJ)

Really? Bizarre? Of all the motherfuckers he could’ve had featured on his album… Fucking Bizarre? Smh… Whatever. I guess I should give him a chance. Oh no… “Welcome to the creep show, street show, freak show, peep show / Anything goes strippers and live shows.” This album is taking a dark turn. Mike’s flow was nice on the first verse. This isn’t even really a bad song lyrically. It’s just that the content doesn’t resonate with me at all. The hook is pretty terrible too. That line Mike had in the second verse about how you haven’t really seen a color until you’ve seen it on shrooms was really cool to me. I don’t know why. “It’s the creep show; show your nasty titties.” Guess who said that line. Need a hint? Okay, he also said this. “I don’t sell crack to my African brothers / I sell it to they mothers and they ex-lovers.” Still not sure? Okay, one more. “My girlfriends a fucking fool / When she turned her back I’m making out with her mother like I’m in high school.” Fucking Bizarre man… Lmao. What the hell is wrong with this dude? Every time he raps I just feel like I’m listening to a 14 year old Eminem fan try to spit a bunch of shock-value bars that are just really fuckin’ lame and in poor taste. It’s low brow humor. I feel like if you’re the type of person who thinks the movie Sausage Party is a masterpiece, you’d probably be a fan of Bizarre. Dude is a fucking clown. Anyway, I’m not feelin’ this song. Mike’s verses weren’t bad, but the hook, content, and eye-roll inducing verse from Bizarre really brought this shit down for me. This is wack. 2/5

Track 9: U Know I Love U Feat. J-Sweet (Prod. Swiffman)

This beat is alright. I’m not crazy about this hook tho. I guess it’s alright. I’m just not really feelin’ J-Sweet’s vocals that much. Killer Mike’s delivery is great. The content isn’t really interesting me. Man, this is kinda bad… The hook is really wack. This song just isn’t for me, man. The beat’s not that good, the hook is wack, and the content doesn’t interest me at all. “You’re my path to the pen or the crazy house / I deliver dick raw and won’t take it out.” Nah. I’m not feelin’ this. This is wack to me. 2/5

Track 10: Home Of The Brave Feat. Slimm Calhoun (Prod. Cool & Dre)

Oh shit. This beat is dope. Okay. I think this album is about to bounce back. Mike killed that first verse. “I’m sittin’ on those dub twins / I’m from the city where kiddies ride on dope rims / It’s where niggas snap shots and they ain’t takin’ pictures, Mr. / I’m well equipped to hit you; same birthday as Hitler.” Gotdamn. This fool is braggin’ about sharing his birthday with Hitler. Shit is crazy. The hook is nothing special. The second verse was cool. Could’ve done without that F bomb tho. Slimm Calhoun did his thing on the third verse. The way they were tradin’ bars on the final verse was really fuckin’ nice. I fuck with this track. This is dope. 4/5

Track 11: L.I.V.E. (Prod. Swiffman)

This beat is nothing special. It’s really simplistic. This song sounds like Killer Mike performing at an Underground Hip Hop show with like 50 people. It sounds like one of them open mic shows where any rapper can go up and spit shit. There are people cheering in the background. The hook is alright I guess. He’s just rapping about partying. Not my cup of tea. This isn’t good. Nothing about this is good. I’m not feelin’ it. That outro was awful. This is wack to me. 2/5

Track 12: Blow (Get Down) Feat. Rock D The Legend [Prod. Blue Eyes & Silo Slugsworth]

Uuuhhhh… No… Jesus. Okay. No. This is Pornocore. This is not what I want from Killer Mike. Well, this really isn’t what I want from anyone. “I’m into risqué sex; two hoes can swallow me / If a bitch givin’ brains, I’m givin’ lobotomies.” No. This beat isn’t good. The hook’s alright. Rock D’s verse actually wasn’t that bad. He wasn’t really rapping about sex. The song just ended. Yeah… Nah. This isn’t the wackest song on the album, but it’s still pretty bad. I’m not feelin’ the beat. You already know how I feel about the subject matter. The hook kinda sucked, but it wasn’t too bad I guess. I’m really not fuckin’ with this shit. This is wack to me. 2/5

Track 13: Sex, Drugs, Rap & Roll (Prod. Teeth Malloy & White Boy Leroy)

Oh shit. Okay, this beat is dope. Alright, here we go. Killer Mike’s rappin’ his ass off. He’s not dickin’ around and just rapping about getting wasted or blown. The first verse was dope. The hook’s alright. Uh oh… This second verse… “I ain’t Kobe, all my bitches look ethnic / Dark, thick, pierced tongues tits and clits / Some thick other chick catch us in the GC / Gettin’ lap dances from the same bitch, lame bitch.” Eugh… God. Jesus fucking Christ. “Face fuckin’ & pill poppin’.” No. No. What the fuck happened? Where did this come from? He wasn’t rapping like this on the first verse… Jesus. No. Fuuuck. The third verse was like that too. This is the most vulgar track on the whole album so far. He’s talking about how he likes “to pull her guts from the inside out” and leave bruises on “chin and pussy.” This is fucked up. Nah. I can’t get behind this shit. This is wack af to me. 1/5

Track 14: Dragon Feat. Fass Black (Prod. Mr. C-Lo & Blue Eyes)

That must be Fass Black rapping on the first verse. I’m not really feelin’ this muffled vocal effect he’s using. I think they were trying to make it sound like a phone call. The beat’s dope. The hook’s pretty solid. Oh shit… He WAS rapping through a cell phone. They recorded that verse while he was in jail. He died before the album came out. Damn. This is heavy. “Dear God, I’ve messed up again; I’m sassed up again / Vodka spilling out my mouth onto my chin / I’ve slipped into the darkness of the heartless / Those barbarians carry savage weapons and they start shit.” I love his aggressive delivery over this dramatic production. His first verse was dope. Oh. There’s only one verse from him. It’s over now. Whatever. I enjoyed this song. It’s not my favorite, but it’s a huge step up from most of the previous tracks. This is dope. 4/5

Track 15: Reakshon Feat. Bone Crusher, T.I. & Bun B (Prod. Andre 3000)

I’m pretty sure this is just a remix of the original Akshon song. It’s starting now. Oh. Never mind. It’s got a different beat. I guess this is more of a sequel than a remix. Lmao. This hook from Bone Crusher is great. He sounds like DMX. I mean, he sounds EXACTLY like DMX. Bone Crusher is to DMX as Shyne is to Biggie. He even took DMX’s “WHAT” ad-lib. I like it tho. The hook is dope af. Honestly, this is probably my favorite hook on the whole album. This beat is dope af. T.I. killed it. This is awesome. I’m pretty sure this is gonna end up being my favorite song on the album. This is great. Goddamn. Killer Mike is fuckin’ killin’ this second verse. His flow is awesome. Um… Man… There are a LOT of F bombs on this album. I haven’t really said much about it, but uh… Yeah… That’s unfortunate. Oh shit. Gotdamn. Bun B fucking slaughtered the last verse. Jesus. Okay, he fuckin’ murdered this shit. He definitely had the best verse. That was fucking awesome. “Bitch I’m coming live from the trunk & I thrive on the funk / ‘Cause I’d rather die like a man than survive like a punk / I’m no coward, I’m ‘dro-powered, you gettin Twin-Towered / Devoured; it’s a shit-storm and you bout to get showered / From Broward county to Harris, Pasadena to Paris / I embarrass niggas on chrome wheels as big as the ferris / ‘Cause there is no way no how; I stay low-key, low-brow / In that black on black on black in the ‘lac ’cause I’m so wild.” I’m sorry for putting such a long ass quote in here, but gotDAMN. That was fucking crazy. I definitely fuck with this song. This is dope af. 5/5

Track 16: Hand On The Nine, Finger On The Trigger Feat. Stephen Carrington (Prod. Swiffman)

This is a hidden track. What the fuck? OHHHHH fuck… Yo… This shit is awesome. I usually HATE electric guitars, but this shit right here? WOOOO! This shit is HARD as FUCK. So I guess this is technically Nu Metal, right? Wow. Am I enjoying a Nu Metal song? What the fuck is happening? This is so fuckin’ dope. Fuuuck. He’s killin’ this shit. He sounds so fucking awesome on this beat. Jesus. He’s fucking murdering this shit. Is… Is this my favorite song on the album? Wow. I’m listening to a Nu Metal song. I’m listening to a Nu Metal song, and it’s good. I thought this moment would never come. This guy Stephen Carrington did his thing. Fuuuck, man. This is so dope. It just ended. Wow. Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting to hear anything like this. It’s cool that he saved arguably the most experimental song on the album as a hidden track. I love this shit. This is dope af to me. 5/5

Final Thoughts:

Unfortunately, this album is not good… It’s not bad tho. It’s just okay. I guess that’s why people never really talk about it. I’m glad I listened to it tho. The songs that are actually good are fucking fantastic to me. This could’ve been a good EP. It starts off really strong, and ends really strong. However, damn near the entire middle section of this album is wack. If he just left all that shit on the cutting room floor, this could’ve been a fantastic project. My biggest problem with a lot of these songs was definitely the content. I don’t wanna hear Killer Mike rap about generic shit like partying and sex. I really don’t wanna hear ANYONE rap about that shit if I’m being honest. The tracks where he’s just goin’ off about being a monster on the mic are fucking phenomenal. I’d say this album is definitely worth giving a shot, especially if you’re already a fan. Once you sift through all the generic Pornocore, there’s a lot of great shit to be discovered. However, as an entire project, it doesn’t really come together how I would’ve liked. It’s decent.

Favorite Song: Hard On The Nine, Finger On The Trigger

Least Favorite Song: A.D.I.D.A.S.

Verdict:

66%

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