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Single MindedThe last time we left Mike Control, they were coming off a hot streak, releasing an impressive CD and winning an award for their offerings.
Mike Control has taken another step to greatness with the release of their new single-The Naturals. Grey Ghost, Jon Bro and Mike "The Oscillator" are back with battle raps aimed at winning the war and from the sounds of it, they are. The Naturals is a lyrical delight, painting a picture of mic annihilation with a theme of natural disaster ever present in their lyrical barrage. The natural...the natural/my mic flow, the wind blow/disaster...disaster/Shockwave circulate/the answer...the answer/Destructive element as we write the next chapter. If this is an example of the next chapter, then I can't wait to read the whole book as Mike Control dominates with a lyrical onslaught and tight production behind it, using high octane horns over a bumping 808 baseline that brings it all together. The best part of it all is these guys know what they are rapping about. They know what to say and when to say it. They are intelligent and their words and rhymes highlight this intelligence that makes each song a masterpiece.
And it continues on the flipside with the group's first posse cut, collaborating with El Gant (MTV's DFX battle champ), Tah Phrum duh Bush (underground vet), Bee Kay (106th and Park) and Jtree (Double I) on Brooklyn Ill Spitters. This group of Brooklyn's finest combine to destroy the listener's mind with lyrics you don't usually hear on everyday mainstream hits, but should. The group represents Brooklyn well and ups the ante on those who think they know how to rap. Rhyme like Got the loaded up mic/and my tongue be the trigga or Ill Spitter/fade you like Vampire's reflections in glass mirrors and my favorite, I collapse tracks with raps/leave artifacts rooted deep as I navigate east of the map/drop my verse/show the world where Brooklyn at.
Mike Control just knows the game all too well and the spit better than anyone I have heard in a long time. It is always a pleasure listening to their music. The raps write the review for me and I always know I have something special in my hands when I get a hold of their CD. It won't be long before Mike Control takes control of the rap game. Make room.
Another underground group looking to give mainstream rap a run for its money is MURK Entertainment's Sublyme. Kev Dibease and Jair Dynast, both with strong backgrounds in music, get together to release a single that is hot. Awesome intriguing beats with a killer mic flow that alone leaves the listener's head nodding. This is a killer track, but amazingly, the B-side, entitled Sublyme, is better than Bonk, the main song on the CD. Still, both songs together make an awesome gift to the rap fan tired of the monotony and looking for something just a bit different.
Dibease's father is a former reggae DJ and record storeowner while Jair's dad was an avid guitarist. Both men combine to become intellectually innovative street poets with thickly layered musical backdrops that utilizes the backgrounds that influenced them growing up. Bonk contains a very interesting underground beat that is bumping. However, it is the looped vocal in the background that makes this song and really compliments the music and the battle lyrics that permeate the track (i.e. With flows like these/opposing me/you better hold your rosary/your nose will bleed/throw bows and knees). Bonk gets you hyped, but the track Sublyme really keeps you moving.
Sublyme speaks verbal intercourse/made to **** you/your flows weak/so don't speak/til your spoken to/we can't be beat/so you can only hope to/escape from murderation/ decapitation/evil sensations of my inspiration/for this creation/come to the realization/that you can't win/you're ****ing with the people's champion/kill you/**** a ransom/turn your son into a bastard/at your funeral/**** your widow on your casket.Wow! That hurts, but it's fast spitting tracks like these that let you know where Sublyme is coming from. These aren't just some thugs off the streets. They are more dangerous than that. A new generation of smart rappers is upon us. Sublyme takes what you hear on the radio these days and flips it on its ear. Fast raps, tight production and killer beats make this group a force to be reckoned with. Be ready. Deadly silence/only true dawgs can hear/evil concoction/Dibease and Jair. Sublyme: remember their name.
Send your comments and or questions about this article to JMinners@ybfree.com.