Reviews

The Rival Mob – Mob Justice LP

rivalmob

I don’t pretend to be one of those guys who only listens to the most unknown, mysterious, and unattainable bands. When it comes to hardcore, sometimes bands get popular for a reason, and right now The Rival Mob has to be numero uno. And for good reason – they’ve been around long enough to build that kind of fan base, play tons of fests, release new shit every year or so, and have the craziest t-shirt game going.

Last year these dudes put out a little sampling of what was to come from their debut on REV in the form of a sampler tape. The streets were left in a frenzy over it. Some of the best tracks the band has yet put together were on there. Not only that, the Paincave recording seemed to have been crafted to a perfect balance of crushing guitar crunch and booming thud-dy drums.

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Wu-Block – S/T CD

Wu-BlockS/T CD

I don’t quite know how to explain it really but in modern days hip-hop albums don’t feel like they are as cohesive as they were in the 80s and 90s. They are more like a collection of tracks by the same artist. Could it be that the mixtape generation brought on the need to use multiple producers, different styles, different sessions, and release as much music and quickly as possible? Maybe.

I don’t know exactly, but I know that I haven’t had a solid through and through album hit me like this one has in a very long time. Not only that, I haven’t felt like hip-hop has been represented so strongly in New York City. Sure you got all the “money and bitches” guys that “hit the club” these days, but they are twelve for ten cents. Can any of those guys tell a story like D-Block, can they keep my attention while rapping with the fuckin’ flu? No way. This is my top pick for 2012. It’s just a shame it came out so close to the end of the year because it won’t make so many of those dumb lists. Go get this shit now and recognize real hardcore NY hip-hop music.