Woe to Thee O Land Whose Kind is Child

"This is our turn now" the vocal sample starts things off, the voice of the educated people, the most intense and intellectually sound anti-war record I have ever heard. The group consists of Orko and Big Jus, with a few guest appearances including K-the-I???. If ever there were a record that might give hip-hop fans a taste of what Company Flow would have sounded like if they stood together, then this one just might be it. Anyone who was a fan of the political and intellectual rhymes they used to spit with such venom is going to be blown away by this LP. Not only does Big Jus show he has lost none of his hunger, but the supporting cast more than match him for intensity and verbal gymnastics.

To have the theories and facts you already know about the US governments foreign policy laid out in a hip-hop verse is an interesting experience. It's an affirmation of righteousness for the learned listener, and the more credible the emcee spitting the knowledge is, the more gratifying it is for the listener. Yes, this is hip-hop of the highest order, hip-hop where facts and learned people actually shine for the gifts they have in their minds.

Enough chit-chat, let's get down to it, the nitty gritty, the hip-hop, the beats. The multi-layered, ice-cold, dark, apocalyptic beats. "Invisible Oblivion" gets things off to a stunning start, with a lonely reverberating guitar chord hanging in the air whilst Jus and Orko drop the most unpatriotic rhymes George Bush will ever hear. And yes, it does almost exclusively revolve around the Bush administration, whilst also calling out the names of the ultimate madman, Donald Rumsfeld, and even being loyal to the 'puppy dog' label that Tony Blair has worked so hard to achieve. It's not childish though, oh no, did you think it was childish? Just take a listen to the track.

The hottest track for me was probably "Super Pretzel" a reference to the Pretzel that somehow knocked Dubbya unconscious for several minutes (that was a sign of something right?). Vampires have garlic,... The piano loop on this track is sublime, and Jus rides it with authority and wisdom, "in the name of peace, trying to bomb 6's into 7's." The vocal samples also work to create an amazingly cinematic and effective piece of what essentially becomes reverse propaganda. This record is doing the exact opposite of what the American government, and as an extension, the American media is doing to the people. Other highlights include the blistering and passionate rhymes of "Brave New World" and the busy, dark "Ha Ha Ha Ha".

"You can't kill people to prove that killing is wrong." "[We,] The United States cannot preach non-proliferation, whilst escalating the arms race ourselves" if you ever thought or still think that the wars being waged by the USA are just wars, then think about those lines. This record is not about music to me, it's a record that should be owned by as many people as possible, but perhaps at the same time, it's not a record that is really going to change anything. No, this record is a testament to the people's views on what the most powerful government in the world is doing. It's an affirmation to all those who have lost hope that the message is not reaching enough people, and most importantly, it's an artefact. As many people are saying thesedays, what the US administration is doing is merely speeding up the end of Western dominance in the world. When another superpower is running things, a long way into the future, whether it's as insane as this superpower or not, they will look back at these years, wondering whether all the people had been hoodwinked, bamboozled and taken in by the regime that history has proven to be corrupt. The answer that this record will provide them is no. The people knew what the government was doing, and they responded in the ways they knew best. By any means neccessary. Music is a powerful thing. Ya Dig? Sho' Nuff.

Y.Misdaq aka Yoshi

-to purchase/listen to the entire album in real audio format, go to Big Dada's website.