NightHawks (Cage & Camu Tao) - NightHawks

[DirtMcgehrk]

01. The Briefing
02. N.R.A.
03. The Trailor (Feat. Tame One)
04. Cop Hell
05. Strip Search (Skit)
06. Keep The City Up
07. Car Chase (Feat. Metro)
08. N.Y.P.D.
09. Count Crackula (Feat. Space)
10. NightHawks
11. Let 'Em Go Matt
12. P.C. (Police Crime)
13. Bomb Beak (Feat. Mr. Eon)
14. Street Poly

[DirtMcgehrk]

"NightHawks" is one of those concept albums that absolutely nails the idea that the artists were going for. It centers around the NightHawks: Two corrupt cops, agents DaSilva and Fox, who are after an international terrorist named Wulfgar. The lyrics and production are inspired heavily by 70's and 80's cop films and TV shows (in particular a film called "NightHawks" starring Sylvester Stallone). Truth be told there isn't much of a storyline, and most of the tracks focus on the depravity of the two protagonists. Exploitation of prostitutes, criminals and drug dealers by the duo is told with disturbing detail. Ultra violent, sex crazed, drug addled tales from the underbelly of New York.

The lyrics are pretty self explanatory. You aren't going to find any hidden meanings or mind blowing metaphors. Story telling takes center stage here, and the directness of the lyrics work well for the album. The delivery of the lyrics hits hard. Both Cage and Camu (RIP) present the bad ass cop attitude perfectly. Their verse trading builds off of each other perfectly, and the variation between Cage's nasally, slurred flow and Camu's deep aggressive voice keep every track fresh. "NightHawks", the title track showcases this dynamic perfectly.

The production on "NightHawks" keeps with the corrupt cop drama theme. Some of it may seem cheesy at first, but it really does sound like an updated version of those low budget shows from the 70's. The sounds range from sprawling synths with creepily layered pianos, straight up funk, and stripped down electro bass lines for the more up-tempo tracks.

This album is one of my favorites of all time. I think as far as concept albums go, it's near perfect. Everything just works. It has a good run time of just under 42 minutes, and never feels drawn out or boring. The imagery presented by Cage and Camu is vivid and often hilariously vulgar, and never takes itself too seriously (which is good). The actual idea of the album is just something that I found extremely appealing, as I'm a big fan of cop dramas in the same vein as "NightHawks", "Training Day" and "The Bad Lieutenant". Classic album for me.

Score: 5/5

Key Tracks:
-NightHawks
-N.R.A.
-Keep The City Up
-Count Crackula