Themselves
CrownsDown
Guess who’s back? Rapper Dose One and producer Jel return to their raw rap roots in an effort to ‘wolf’ those who have criticized and challenged. In order to do so, the duo studied the hip hop classics, distilled them down to their essence and then applied their own formula to the blueprint. Jel brings his trademark big, banging beats that are heavy on hard hip hop drums and dark, experimental sampling: and Dose steps up to the challenge, proving he’s still one of the best when it comes to fast-paced raps – and that he’s also no slouch when it comes to bragging and boasting. In fact, he does a lot of the latter on highlight tracks ‘Back II Burn,’ ‘Oversleeping,’ ‘Gold Teeth Will Roll’ and ‘The Mark,’ the last with a rare rap verse from Jel. Dose celebrates his producer on ‘Skinning The Drum,’ attacks mp3 traders on ‘Roman Is As Roman Does,’ and even slips in some sing-song styles with tribute song ‘Daxstrong,’ on which he is joined by 13 & God bandmates Jordan Dalrymple and Markus Archer, and ‘Deadcatclear II,’ where, for a young child, a cat’s corpse calls God into question. While CrownsDown is a damn fine album that comes off as a more mature, refined rendition of Them, only time will tell if Themselves have created their own classic. Still, it should silence the cynics.
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