INTRODUCTION
I already gave you the background shpeel on M.O.P. in my review of the duo's fourth album, Warriorz, so I'll save you (and myself) the trouble of introducing you to the hardcore entity of Billy Danze and Lil' Fame that is Mash Out Posse and just talk about To The Death, M.O.P.'s debut album.
To The Death contributed to the massive onslaught of critically acclaimed hip-hop records released in 1994 that led many to dub '94 the best year in rap history. Produced almost exclusively by DR Period (one track was produced by Silver D), M.O.P.'s first record immediately helped the duo establish itself a niche in the rap game, that niche being of the tough-as-nails, don't-give-a-damn variety.
To The Death is relatively short, spanning only 10 full tracks (there is an intro and there are four skits), and that is certainly a good thing for a group like M.O.P., because Billy Danze and Lil' Fame's rough style can become tiresome after a while.
Given the fact that M.O.P. was not well-known at the time of its release, To The Death is hardly ever mentioned. Does that mean it is an overlooked classic?
Let's find out.
TRACK-BY-TRACK
1. Crimetime 1-718
The album intro, and I only chose to include this in the review because DR Period's beat bangs.
2. Rugged Neva Smoove
This cut is pretty damn good. The title essentially describes M.O.P. in a nutshell, as, let's face it; Billy Danze and Lil' Fame are rugged and never smooth. DR Period's instrumental crawls, but in a good way, as it suits the duo perfectly. The only complaint I might have with "Rugged Neva Smoove" is that it does run a bit too long for its own good, as the track clocks in at just over five minutes. Other than that, I have no qualms about the first real song on To The Death.
3. Ring Ding
And I said the beat on "Rugged Neva Smoove" was good? The instrumental on "Ring Ding" is certainly better (if not for the simple fact that it's nearly a full minute-and-a-half shorter), as the drums are dusty as hell (that's a good thing) and the sound effects that abound in the background add some substance to it. Both M.O.P. members ride DR Period's production seamlessly, helping make "Ring Ding" (the stupid title aside) one of To The Death's best.
4. Heistmasters
While DR Period's drums on this record are fairly subdued (especially when compared to the preceding track), the upbeat nature of his beat on "Heistmasters" makes it one of To The Death's standout cuts. This track is definitely one of the ones that listeners of commercial radio will gravitate toward after listening to the album in its entirety. I also found it interesting that M.O.P. uses the term "ante up" on here. A little foreshadowing, perhaps?
5. Blue Steel
So far, DR Period has not disappointed me once on To The Death, as the kick drums on this cut absolutely bang. I'm not saying the overall product on "Blue Steel" is anything spectacular (nor will I say that about any record in this album), but it's certainly worth listening to multiple times. The horns add a nice element to the beat, too, and the hook, although extremely simple, is pretty damn catchy. Solid cut.
6. To The Death
Okay; remember when I said that DR Period was yet to disappoint me on this project? Well, it happens for the first time here. His production on the album's title track is just flat out boring, and it's even a bit annoying (referring to the relatively high-pitched nature of the instrumental). This takes the title of "worst song on the album" in a runaway.
7. Top Of The Line
I wasn't too enamored with this one, either, but it was certainly better than "To The Death." DR Period's drums are just dusty enough to at least keep my attention a little bit, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be bumping this song consistently. Am I sensing a bit of a lull on this album?
8. Drama Lord
Ahh, back on track. I love everything about this cut, from the knocking drums to the faint horns that surface in the background every other bar to Billy Danze and Lil' Fame's actual rapping (especially Lil' Fame). If you're looking for a song off of To The Death to bang in your ride, "Drama Lord" is it.
9. F.A.G. (Fake Ass Gangsta)
"F.A.G. (Fake Ass Gangsta)" suffers a similar fate to "Rugged Neva Smoove": it's too long (four minutes and fifty-one seconds to be exact). However, unlike "Rugged Neva Smoove," this track wouldn't be all that even if it were quite a bit shorter. DR Period's instrumental just comes across as awkward, and it doesn't seem like either Mash Out Posse member sounds all too comfortable over it.
10. How About Some Hardcore
This was the first single off of To The Death and the first song that gained M.O.P. some recognition. That's with good reason, too, as "How About Some Hardcore" is a damn good record. DR Period incorporates a deep piano riff into some light drums and blaring horns, and Billy Danze and Lil' Fame are able to capitalize on the beat that, at first listen, does not really seem too conducive toward their style. The elementary hook on this is pretty addictive, too. I guarantee you that you will find yourself nodding your head to this.
11. Guns N Roses
"Guns N Roses" is the only song on the album that wasn't produced by DR Period. Instead, it was made by Silver D. The result? A beat that sounds an awful lot like Heltah Skeltah's "Place To Be," (although not as good) and that is a damn good thing. The instrumental is extremely simple, consisting of a fairly common drum pattern and various other subtle instruments sprinkled in throughout, and it works very well.
FINAL THOUGHTS
While there isn't anything exceedingly special about To The Death, I will use a word to describe it that I have used countless times in critiquing good albums on this blog: consistency. M.O.P.'s debut album is, for the most part, very, very consistent (something that wasn't the case with their succeeding works), as DR Period's production keeps to a certain theme throughout the duration of the project, and Billy Danze and Lil' Fame come through with admirable performances on each and every track.
I will admit that To The Death does not exactly have a home in my rotation, but I am not the biggest M.O.P. fan as it is, so that obviously plays a factor in that. However, I have listened to enough Mash Out Posse to confidently say that To The Death is the duo's most consistent--not best, but consistent--effort in their long career. Once again, nothing about it really stands out, but as a whole, it's just a very nice album. Think of it as the 2004 Detroit Pistons (although not as good in comparison).
Another positive about M.O.P.'s debut record was the length. I feel like if the group decided to make To The Death any longer, the overall product would have suffered. To me, M.O.P. is good in doses, so a short album is exactly what the doctor ordered. I found the biggest problem with Warriorz, the group's most popular album, was that there was way too much filler. Filler was never even given a chance to rear its ugly head on To The Death.
So, is To The Death a work of art? Not really, but it is good for what it is and is a great way to introduce yourself to M.O.P.. If you're new to Billy Danze and Lil' Fame, start here.
TOP FIVE TRACKS
1. Drama Lord
2. Heistmasters
3. Blue Steel
4. Ring Ding
5. How About Some Hardcore
SKIPPABLE TRACKS
To The Death
INTRODUCTION
M.O.P. (Mash Out Posse), a duo made up of rappers Billy Danze and Lil' Fame (who produces under the name "Fizzy Womack"), is one of the those groups that you either absolutely love or just cannot even fathom listening to. Their hardcore style has captured the hearts of many hip-hop fans, but at the same time, their act quickly wore thin on many others. Basically, they scream on nearly every track. Think of them as another version of Onyx, or even as DMX times 20.
In the game since 1993, M.O.P. has released eight albums, their most recent being Foundation in September of last year. Over the years, the two rappers formed a partnership with DJ Premier and, subsequently, Premo has contributed productions on nearly every one of their albums since Firing Squad in '96. However, I think it is pretty clear to most rap fanatics that DJ Premier's work with M.O.P. is not his best, so don't get too excited over the prospect of them joining forces.
Of all of the eight albums that M.O.P. has dropped, Warriorz is their most well-known, selling the most copies of any of their projects and being home to the group's most popular song, "Ante Up." That said, the fact that Warriorz is regarded as their best work isn't really saying much, as M.O.P. has always struggled to put together a good, complete album, and, given their style, it's obvious as to why that is.
Let's take a look, shall we?
TRACK-BY-TRACK
1. Welcome To Brownsville
If you're new to M.O.P., you will realize that the two rappers in the group sound very, very similar. The best way to tell them apart is to keep it in your mind that Billy Danze's voice is a bit deeper and gruffer than Lil' Fame's. Anyway, Fizzy Womack lays down this beat, and it's nothing spectacular. Teflon, an M.O.P. affiliate who manages to adopt the duo's sound to a tee, makes a guest appearance, and he just sounds awful. Not a bad start, but not a great one, either.
2. Every Day
You will be able to identify this as a Premo track as soon as it begins. That doesn't mean it's any good, though, as R&B singers (in this case, The G&B Product [yeah; I've never heard of him either]) just do not complement M.O.P. well at all.
3. Ante Up
Now this is a banger, and it has become an anthem for athletes everywhere who want to pump themselves up before a game. You may recognize the "ohh, ohh, ohh" in the beginning as being from Pharoahe Monch's song, "Desire," as The Alchemist sampled "Ante Up" for that cut. Anyway, DR Period's beat on this will make you want to punch the nearest object, so I suggest you distance yourself from any humans or animals (or walls) before playing this.
4. Face Off
DJ Premier's second beat on the album. The production is pretty good, but it's a bit too slow for M.O.P., as Billy Danze and Lil' Fame don't sound too comfortable over this, as they seem to be struggling to adjust to the pace of the instrumental. Fortunately, Premo's work makes this listenable.
5. Warriorz
Mahogany Music produced this record. He makes good use of the vocal sample, but the rest of it is pretty meh. On the bright side, Billy Danze's hook is pretty good.
6. G-Building
Billy Danze yelling "bang your head against the wall!" at the start is pretty funny, and the M.O.P.-produced beat, while actually a bit comical, is alright. Still, this just isn't very good. By this point of the album, "Ante Up" is the only track that possesses any kind of replay value to me.
7. Old Timerz
Laze E Laze's beat doesn't sound like something M.O.P. would rap over, but it doesn't matter, because this comes out sounding really good, both in terms of production and rapping. As the title suggests, M.O.P. pays homage to the old school on this cut, which is by far the second best song on Warriorz thus far.
8. On The Front Line
Another Premo beat. Unfortunately, it pretty much bombs. It's just way too busy, and neither Billy Danze or Lil' Fame put forth any kind of performance worth noting.
9. Nig-Gotiate
"Nig-Gotiate?" Ohhhh. I get it! Anyway, this Fizzy Womack-laced cut is actually solid (funny how none of the best songs on this album so far were produced by DJ Premier). This has a real old-school vibe to it, and when I say old-school, I mean old-school in the sense that it sounds like something you'd hear on one of those videos displaying the streets of New York in the 1920s. Not bad.
10. Follow Instructions
Finally; a good Premo beat on here. Saying this is "good" is actually doing it an injustice, too, because the production is sick. M.O.P. seems right at home on it, as both rappers flow seamlessly without restraint.
11. Calm Down
And then we're given this. Ugh. Fizzy Womack's beat on this just grates on the ears. Avoid "Calm Down" at all costs.
12. Power
Another Fizzy Womack beat, another dud. Although this isn't as bad as "Calm Down," it isn't exactly a sound for sore ears (is that even an expression?).
13. Home Sweet Home
Ahh. Back on the right track. Nottz, one of my favorite producers right now, drops some fire for M.O.P. and guest artist Lord Have Mercy, who sounds pretty damn good on this, making for what is absolutely one of the best songs on Warriorz. Seriously; why don't more big-name artists utilize Nottz? The dude is terrific.
14. Background Niggaz
For some reason, DR Period decided to channel his inner Dr. Dre and DJ Premier and combine them into some awful force comparable to a guy with horrendous B.O. applying cologne without taking a shower. It just makes things worse.
15. Cold As Ice
Yes. Yes. YES. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to the greatest M.O.P. track of all-time. Yes; better than "Ante Up." Much better, actually. The vocal sample that Fizzy Womack uses throughout is phenomenal, and the piano hits and drums are sick. This is not just my favorite M.O.P. song, but one of my favorite songs, period.
16. Operation Lockdown
So we go from "Cold As Ice" to this trash? First of all, naming this song "Operation Lockdown" is doing a major disservice to Heltah Skeltah's classic track of the same name on Nocturnal. Second of all, Chris Coker, who I've never heard of up until now, did an awful job on the boards. His beat somewhat resembles the "Put Up Or Shut Up" instrumental DJ Premier did for Guru on The Ownerz, but the main difference is that Premo's beat was actually, um, good.
17. Roll Call
You've really gotta wonder if Premo just pulled some instrumentals he dumped in his recycle bin and handed them to M.O.P. for this project, because his beat on "Roll Call" is another bust.
18. Foundation
Whoever the heck Curt Cazal is, he should stay away from any music production programs or recording studios, because this crap sounds like, well, whatever crap would sound like.
FINAL THOUGHTS
To be honest, Warriorz was seriously painful to listen to all the way through. Not only are the majority of the beats pretty bad, but hearing those terrible instrumentals plus M.O.P.'s constant yelling for 18 tracks will make you want to dig your eardrums out.
Don't expect any kind of Gang Starr-like production from DJ Premier here, as it seems like he sleepwalked through three of his five productions and just didn't put any effort into them at all. I have never been as big of a fan as Premo as many others, but I have always enjoyed his work with Guru, Jeru The Damaja, and the like. However, his production on Warriorz really sounds amateurish. For his standards, anyway.
Maybe if this album wasn't so long, I could tolerate it a bit more, but the length of this record really ruins any kind of enjoyable listening experience one could take out of this. The fact that it is considered to be M.O.P.'s most impressive album is scary.
Don't get me wrong; there are some really good songs on Warriorz, but as a whole, the album just doesn't hold up very well. There is very little variety, and it obviously isn't for everyone. I'm sure some of M.O.P.'s hardcore fans will enjoy it, but for the non-Stan, this just isn't very impressive. But hey; at least it had "Cold As Ice."
TOP FIVE TRACKS
1. Cold As Ice
2. Ante Up
3. Follow Instructions
4. Old Timerz
5. Home Sweet Home
SKIPPABLE TRACKS
Every song not listed in the top five except for "Face Off" and "Nig-Gotiate."
