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	Heltah Skeltah “D.I.R.T. Duck Down/Koch, 2008 Rated 3.5 out of 5

Heltah Skeltah - Ruck n Roll (produced by Stu Bangas)

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By Choppa

The choice to appear on the cover of a hardcore rap album wearing a mask and a cape, like an extra from some R. Kelly video gone awry, isn’t one many artists would make, but then again, normal isn’t a standard that Heltah Skeltah can really be held to. That the Brooklyn duo would have a “much anticipated” release in 2008, a full decade since their last album is nothing short of amazing. This is due to the cape-clad Sean Price, who resurrected himself in the form of “the brokest rapper you know” on his out-of-nowhere solo debut, 2005’s Monkey Barz.  With that album, and its followup, 2007’s Jesus Price Superstar, Price, a.k.a. Ruck, set the stage for this reunion.

Price is joined by his gravel-voiced partner in crime, Rock. Together, the two continue the general trend of Price’s solo albums: rhymes that are at once threatening and amusing, with gun talk and chest thumping mixed in with a piercing wit, sometimes directed at themselves. This is a delicate balancing act that few should attempt, but these two do it perfectly. The imagery they use is often hilarious and over the top: “When I fucked Rhianna, ain’t use no umbrella/If the the bitch have twins, we namin’ ‘em both Ella…Ella…” It is a fantastic collection of verses, but they are all interchangeable from track to track, and for the most part, no particular concepts emerge on the tracks. Production on the album is decent high-octane underground stuff, but can’t escape comparisons to the Justus League-heavy sound of Sean Price’s two albums. Khrysis and Ill-Mind are still around, but with two tracks each, they do not dominate the album, and the other beatmakers don’t quite pick up the slack.  There are certainly some other good contributions, notably from Sic Beats (”Smack Muzik”) and Stu Bangas (”Ruck & Roll”), but Khrysis’ atypical swinging head nodder, “The Art of Disrespeckinization” is probably the strongest beat on the album.

Overall, this is a high-quality underground album from two original, if ill-mannered, voices in hip hop. It loses minor points for lack of variety in the tracks, and for production that doesn’t quite stand up to its Sean Price predecessors. Still, it is more than worth a listen, and hopefully means continued success for the re-invented Heltah Skeltah, capes or no.
Track Listing
1. Intro
2. Everything Is Heltah Skeltah
3. The Art Of Disrespekinazation
4. Da Beginning of Da End
5. Twinz
6. D.I.R.T. (Another Boot Camp Clik Yeah Song)
7. So Damn Tuff ft. Buckshot & Ruste Juxx
8. Insane [Explicit]
9. W.M.D. ft. Smif N Wessun
10. That’s Incredible
11. Ape Food ft. The Representativz
12. Hellz Kitchen
13. Smack Muzik ft. Flood
14. Ruck N Roll

Purchase
Amazon.com

Links
Heltah Skeltah on MySpace
Duckdown Records

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