Independent rappers continue to amaze me with their old school sounds and presenting rhymes with a level of intelligence not common in today’s rap. Crisis Center Productions (CCP) is on top of that list. CCP are rappers who mix old school styles with today’s game and make it work. CCP has taken over the rap industry with a new mix tape that is hotter than anything heard on the radio today.

     This mix tape features several titles we have reviewed in previous issues, including CCP’s The Hurt, All I Hear Is and Trick Photography. Mike Control even shows their support with one of our favorites, Brooklyn Ill Spitters. Add in MOP featuring the X-ecutioners with Let ‘em Bang and Raekwon and Ghostface with WTC Part 2, and you have already established heavy hitters with hot songs propelling this CD to the top.

     But it is groups like CCP and Mike Control; the independent groups that really make this CD shine. Artillery by High and Mighty quickly grabs the listener’s attention with the funniest line:

The only mic you picked up/ was at a gay bar.

     Al Shid hits us with the deepest line in the song Ign’ant:

I’m like a blind man’s birthday/ my presence is felt. Phil the Agony comes at the listener with some education in the song Watchout, covering such topics as drugs, easy girls, STDs and crooked music companies: Watch out for the fine print/ consult with your lawyers/ before you sign shit. Great raps like these are fun to listen to. You don’t get that anymore.

     However, three songs truly shine on this CD. Louis Logic comes through with a truly old school mellow turned psycho sound with the song Postal.

My measly check/ don’t make it worth the stress. That hurts my chest. Not to mention I’m immersed in debt. To the top of a turtleneck...But why should anyone listen to me/ When I don’t listen to no one/ consider this as an omen/ I can go berserk/ at any moment/ like a mailman/ fed up with postal work/ I went from happy to nasty/ like a bipolar jerk.

     This is just a cool anthem for those of us tired of our jobs, so tired that we just want to snap.

Punch in, punch out/ punch in, punch out/ I’ve been looking for a building/ with a nice window to jump out/ feeling self destructive/ sick of the daily grind/ lately I felt disruptive/ I think it’s mailman time/ day in, day out/ It seems like there’s no way out/ I pulled a 12-gauge out/ and shot off 28 rounds/ and watched the pellets spreading out/ killing my associates/ my boss is gonna get it now/ and find out what postal is.

     And then we are hit with Kaleber’s One Mic Freestyle. This song is off the hook. Kaleber takes the Nas One Mic song and makes it his own, using the same type of rhyming technique, going from mellow to intense back to the silence before kicking another verse.

All I need is one god, one life, one heart, one love, one mic. This is a track you have to hear-no disrespect to Nas is meant by this song. It almost pays homage to the great rapper who still knows how to reinvent the game and that is what this CD is all about.

     Finally, CCP takes it back with a new song, 1-900-Crisis Center. These guys are just too incredible for words. I want to hear these guys on the radio. I will just let their words speak to you:

The way I f**k cowards up/ You’ll best to get scared/ Rap needed CPR/ I’m the breath of fresh air...A lot of frustrated rappers/ wanna burst at the mouth/ hold their tongue/ you ain’t got the balls to curse me out loud/ Bodies getting viewed/ then the hearse will come out/ I rep the streets of NEW YORK/ Plus the dirt in the South/ We gonna drop Volume 1/ that’s what the hurt was about/ just so you can’t talk shit/ when there’s dirt in your mouth...I don’t ghostwrite for kids/ But I can sell a quote/ Ain’t a jaw strong enough/ to spit what I wrote.

     This is an awesome CD filled with old school turntable sounds, some jazzy beats, a little ska reggae sound and even some metal sounding riffs thrown into the hip hop mix. There are straight rap songs and freestyle battle raps as well as songs with a political or industry message. Almost every track will keep the listener glued to the speakers. Innovative, unique and ahead of the game, this is not the mainstream bling, bling, booty calling crap. Musical geniuses run this game and it shows on this collection of rap masterpieces.

     The rap game is ailing and it’s in a crisis, go to Crisiscenterpro.com and let them give you what you need for the cure.

     Send your questions and comments about this article to JMinners@ybfree.com.