Originally Posted by
Tecknowledgist
Say what you want about Vinnie, but he knows heat, and he knows where to find it. How many times have you been listening to an album thinking "Fuck, he should have gotten a beat from Finesse, or 4th Disciple, or DJ Muggs, or Bronze Nazareth, or Madlib". Well he got them all and more. One thing Paz never lacks is the ill beats, and that's half the battle right there. The other half is up to the listener, it's either love or hate with Vinnie Paz. There's really no middle ground. That being said, if you're down with Paz, you'll love this shit.
1. Intro
Albums starts off with the perfect vocal sample.
not rated
2. Beautiful Love
Don't be fooled by the title, this shit goes hard. At first it sounds like some cheesy gameshow but it all changes when the beat drops. German producer Shuko throws Vinnie a heater and he murders it! Great way to start off the album.
"Everywhere I go, the bol Paz is fat!
I be loadin it up! I be cockin it back!
I ain't in my right mind, I ain't stoppin at that
I will hit his life line in the back of his cap"
5/5
3. Monster's Ball
This beat is mad nice and Vinnie spits flames, but the way he spits on this track bothers me a little. I can't even explain it, it's like he's mumbling in an annoying fashion. Still, my pointless bickering aside, this is still a hardbody track, love that beat.
4.5/5
4. Pistolvania featuring Jakk Frost and Freeway
Philly stand up! "The beard is in the building!" haha. The beat has hard-as-shit drums (which is a reoccuring theme on this album) with a simplistic and really familiar piano loop. Jakk Frost and Philly Freeway come through nice and so does Vinnie. It's just an ill tack all around.
5/5
5. End Of Days
Vinnie Paz on some Da Vinci Code shit, talking about conspiracy. Not any conspiracy in particular, just a bunch of random shit. Immortal Technique fans should love this. The professor sample at the beginning and end works well with the lyrics in between. Block McCloud sings the hook and it works. Also, the keys on the beat are nice as fuck.
"Whoever built the pyramids had knowledge of electrical power
And you know that that's the information that they supress and devour
Who you think the motherfuckers who crashed in the towers?
Who you think that made it turn into ash in an hour?
The same ones that invaded your room
The same ones that never told you about the skeletons on the moon"
4.5/5
6. Righteous Kill
Lord Finesse on that! He swings by to drop the hook as well (an ill one at that) .There's not much I can say here, the beat is hard as fuck, and Vinnie kills it. Period.
"I'll make your body disappear, I'm a sorceror's tongue
You live your whole life in fear that the torture will come
I hope my music is revered like a portrait of Pun
I'm paranoid god, here in my fortress with guns"
5/5
7. No Spiritual Surrender featuring Sick Jacken
DJ Muggs truly fucking kills this beat and it just makes it even harder to listen to the new Cypress Hill album. They could have had heat like this on every track, instead they just forgot about Muggs. Beat is eerie as hell and Vinnie makes no mistake on here. Sick Jacken drops by to drop an ill hook and there you have it. Future classic.
"I don't know why y'all scared now, this ain't a new game
Christians been rapin' children over in Ukraine
I don't indulge in small talk, it's only true pain
I don't divulge the plan ock, I fuck with Hussein
Acid is falling from the sky, fuckin new rain
This is a flammable liquified gas butane
Muggs gave me audio heroine, hit the blue vein
I ain't even Vinnie no more, evil my new name"
5/5
8. Street Wars featuring Clipse
You already know!!! This shit is iller than a single goddamn track on Til The Casket Drops. You have Malice actually spittin' about coke instead of Jesus and repenting. Block McCloud could have done a little better with the hook but fuck it, this is a street anthem!
"Best believe it come back like it never left
I write rhymes but I bet I'd make a better chef
They can't wait for it to dry, they like it better wet
And I'm Heavy with the D like Eddie F"
5/5
9. Ain't Shit Changed featuring Lawrence Arnell
Synthed out! Sounds like some slowed down hardcore-techno (if that existed). The beat is alright though, Vinnie comes alright too, the third verse being the standout. That's the best way I can descrive this song: alright. Lawrence Arnell does a nice job with the hook though, no doubt.
"Every morning I rise up, I open my eyes thinking I'm the shit
I guarantee if you're fuckin' with me, you don't know who you're fuckin' with
I been this way since I came of age and I never did play them games
I'll be way this way 'til the day I lay 'cause ain't a goddamn thing gon' change"
3.5/5
10. Aristotle's Dilemma
POW! The beat starts with a soulful sample, sounds like a Beatles song chipmunked, then Vinnie comes in and rapes the shit. The drums are pretty soft (Bronze Naz?) but they work well. It's eerie during the verses and then soft in between. One of the illest songs on the album, Vinnie goes bonkers on this beat. Nice track name by the way.
"Y'all motherfuckers walk around like you got a wire
My watch face the same size as a Ducati tire
Everybody hit the deck when the shotty fire
Vinnie give your team problems like I'm Staudemeir"
5/5
11. Kill 'Em All featuring Beanie Sigel
BEANS! I've been waiting for this one. As Vinnie starts to become a force in Philly, it was only a matter of time before a Beans collabo went down. The beat is produced by C-Lance, a new producer on Enemy Soil Records. First thing you're going to think is "Stoupe" only because of the hard orchestral beat. The beat lacks the genius of a Stoupe beat but it has the hard-ass drums to make you forget that. Beat is sickeningly hard. Beans comes through with a hard verse, but Vinnie really steals the show here.
"Y'all saying Vinnie is back, but Vinnie never left
I just had these faggots hatin' and watchin' my every step
Everything with Vinnie very deadly, every breath
Everythnig with Vinnie very heavy, heavenly flesh
Y'all ain't fuckin with weight, I'm doin' steady reps
I'mma sell my shit and then skate like I was Kerry Getz"
5/5
12. Keep Movin' On Featuring Shara Worden
It's nice to hear Shara Worden again, this is who sang on "When All Light Dies" and "Razorblade Salvation". As the title suggests, this is more of a serious song with Vinnie telling the stories of three different people struggling and trying to keep moving on. The first verse speaks of a factory worker who gets laid off, the second verse is about Vinnie himself, and the third is about a soldier who is injured overseas and is forgotten about when he returns to his own country. A beautiful heartfelt song, Vinnie always shines on these (which is counter-intuitive in itself.)
"Around '94, had some labels take notice
They said that Stoupe was the illest but that I ain't focused
The record execs needed to be explained dopeness
And that's around the time I thought that it became hopeless"
5/5
13. Brick Wall featuring ILL Bill and Demoz
Oh baby. Mozarotti Mozzy and the Cult Leader come through on this one and the outcome could never fail. Demoz spits the second verse as well as a perfect chorus (christ, why can't he spit an ill chorus on an AOTP album.) The only Pharaoh to make the album, he doesn;t disappoint. I want to see this kid go somewhere because he deserves it. Ill Bill is on the third verse with a throwback Non-Phixion "Futurama"-type verse! Oh yeah, Vinnie kills it too.
"I'm a bomb attached to the chest of exploding martyrs
Code of Honor, shoot me out your M16, deliver souls beyond the
World to conquer planets and enslave entire populations"
5/5
14. Role Of Life
WHOAAA!!! This shit is hard as fuck! Madlib?! I need those fucking production credits. The beat has a vocal loop of a woman singing, over the hardest drums you've ever heard. In between verses, the beat changes to something softer, making it that more intense when the drums kick back in and Vinnie comes at you. This beat sounds like some vintage Sunz Of Man/Killarmy shit. ILL!
"All I think about is slaughterin' y'all
That little motherfucker named Charles Hamilton is harder than y'all (LOL)
It's in the garbae with y'all
Listen to all you myspace rappers, I'm a father to y'all"
5/5
15. Nosebleed featuring R.A. The Rugged Man
Oh baby, who doesn't get hype when they see Rugged on a tracklisting?? I don't even have to tell you he kills it, it's just a given. Honestly I don't think it's as good as the usual Rugged Man verse, but it's still better than what 99% of other dudes spit. Vinnie brings the flow out on this one, I guess in an effort to match RA's flow. Too bad he has to punch in twice a bar to do it! The chorus has a woman singing creepy as hell, sounds sick though. The beat is nice and hard of course, as is just about every one on the album.
"Pazienza the Pazmanian Damian, rappin obtanian
Crack in your cranium, I'm mackin Mahogany at the Palladium
I'm Bruce Leroy, you Eddie Arcadian
I got the gat in the black and the Arabian
I'm more important like Dick Cheney in it YO" (I know it's inaccurate, feck off)
5/5
16. WarMonger
I've always considered Lil Fame aka Fizzy Womack a musical genius, listening to tracks like Cold As Ice and Ante Up. So needless to say, I was excited to hear he had a beat on Vinnie's new album. Too bad his beat is fucking trash. Weakest song on the album by a longshot. Vinnie can't rock over slow beats, and this is proof. The flow is just off. I'm not sure who does the hook, but it's the only redeemable part of the song.
2/5
17. Paul And Paz featuring Paul Wall
Yeah. Paul Wall and Vinnie Paz. Figure that one out. I swear to God, I'm not sure how, but this shit works. Block McCloud sings the hook about gettin' dough and paper chasin'. Then Paul Wall comes in and spits about Cadillacs and bankrolls. Then Vinnie comes in and screams about death and murder. Somehow the beat works well with both of their different styles. So one minute, you're listening to commercial rap, next minute, that hardcore shit, but it's a smooth transition. I can see this one getting a lot of hate it doesn't deserve, it's by no means a bad song!!
"That paper is a fool if you put in work
I'mma hustle 'til I'm under the dirt, I gotta get it baby --
I'M NICE WITH THE OX, YOU GET CUT LIKE THE RAW WHITE!
OR HIT YOU WITH A FUCKING SILVER BULLET LIKE COORS LIGHT!"
5/5
18. Bad Day
No, it's not Dead Wrong by Biggie (you'll understand when you hear it). This is something you don't hear often, Vinnie Paz doing a humorous song. This kind of sounds like a Madlib beat, I know he's on here somewhere. Nice smooth shit, the soulful vocal sample is what gives me that impression. This is the shortest song on the album, but it works well that way. It's more of a funny interlude than anything. I still love it.
"I don't know where the fuck I'm at today
I drank a couple of bottles, I guess I have to pay
This bitch laying next to me, she look like Cashis Clay
Gotta get outta here before she ask me to stay
I don't know how I got here in the first place
She had a bangin body but she had the worst face"
5/5
19. Washed In The Blood Of The Lamb
4th Disciple!!! Enough said, 4th brings it on the beat. It's funny how Wu-Tang can't even get a 4th beat and Vinnie Paz can. Eerie voices are layered over top a string ensemble, with a heavy guitar peaking through every few bars. Only slight problem I have with this track is Vinnie screaming prohecies for adlibs, right at the beginning of the track. Do it at the end so we can slip that shit homeboy. Also, the chorus could use some work, but I can't complain. The combination of 4th Disciple and Vinnie Paz works beautiful like I knew it would. GRIME!
"I'm just waiting for the raven to fall
'Cause I don't argue with Mesopotamian law
I submit my will and faith into the grace of Allah
And the Mayan calendar say it's erasing us all"
4.5/5
20. Drag You To Hell
The first song that leaked from the album. A lot of people weren't feeling DJ Qwestion on the beat, but I think it works well. jmthiphop.com released the acapella for this song had a remix contest. It would have been smarter to put the winning remix in place of this song on the album, but apparently not. In any event, Vinnie brings some of his hardest shit on this song and the Sticky Fingaz scratched chorus is a highlight of the album.
"Y'all don't wanna go that route
Broke motherfucker need to throw his throwback out
If you see me drinking something good, I stoke that stout
If you see me drinking in the hood then roll back out"
4/5
21. Same Story (My Dedication) featuring Liz Fullerton of Dutch
Some of the most heartfelt lyrics I've ever heard from Vinnie, this is a dedication to his stepfather who has recently passed away. Liz Fullerton from Stoupe's new project "Dutch" lends her vocals for the track and really does a beautiful job with it. I have to admit, the original version of the song that leaked a while back was a lot better. The way the sample was woven was genius. I'm guessing the sample couldn't be cleared. The album version has a simplistic but effective piano loop with an acoustic guitar playing softly behind it, and an intermittent string ensemble. You can hear the original and compare here:
"It take a real man to walk through the rain
He was a real man who got sick and fought through the pain"
5/5
Pros:
- Every beat (bar one) is absolute sickness.
- Role Of Life and Aristotle's demise are crazy as fuck
- Vinnie is a master of heartfelt songs
- Every guest on the album comes nice
Cons:
- Album can get monotonous at times because of Vinnie's subject matter (surprise)
- WarMonger. Wtf Fame?
- The last two songs should have been replaced by alternates
Total: 4.5 (lowered from 4.65 because of slight monotony)
Vinnie paz-season of the assassin review
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