“93 ’til Infinity” is the single by Oakland group “Souls Of Mischief”, off of the album of the same name. This song became a hit amongst Hip Hop fans in the 90’s, however despite it’s success the album only had moderate sales and failed to garner as much praise as it deserved. The group was noted for their production and unique rhyme styles; making their debut album shine during the early nineties.
“Soul On Ice” by Ras Kass is a classic; while this song is on his debut album (bearing the same name), it’s not the far-superior remixed version. This album failed to garner very much mainstream attention, but it became highly popular amongst underground rap fans at the time. He was noted for his battle lyrics and strong messages, however with such messages came controversy. His song “Nature of the Threat” while incredibly intelligent and fact based, it was considered racist due to the Afrocentric context it was presented in.
Combining Hip Hop’s underground heavy weight ‘El-P’, of Company Flow fame and two very talented New York underground artists ‘Vast Aire’ and ‘Vordul Mega’ comes one of the freshest albums in Hip Hop. Many purists will tell you Company Flow’s ‘FunCrusher Plus’ was a classic in it’s own right due to the unique production and stylized battle lyrics done by El P and Big Juss, and with this you’ll also get the “there’s no album that broke ground like this one”. Well, while Cold Vein may not have broken this ground, it’s just delved deeper.
Now, you’re probably wondering, what’s the recipe to what I’ve already summed up as a genius album? Top notch production and some of the finest lyrics ever heard on a Hip Hop album. Vordul Mega’s style is laced with multiple-syllable flows and a dash of abstract metaphors pertaining to his depressing views on life. Now, to be honest Vordul isn’t the reason this album is still playing on my stereo, his lyrics are good but they don’t have the same level of uniqueness as Vast Aire’s do. However, without Vordul’s input on this album, it wouldn’t feel right. Vast Aire, while not having the incredible flow that Vordul does, makes up for it with his charismatic delivery and genius wordplay. Each track, he laces his lyrics with some of the wittiest line’s I’ve heard in Hip Hop thus far. Lines from Iron Galaxy such as: “You were a stillborn baby, mother didn’t want you but your were still born, boy meets world of course his pops is gone, what you figga, that chalky outline on the ground is a father figure?” leave my jaw still dropping.
