The Brothers of the Stone are a boom bap trio from London, England, United Kingdom consisting of Real Life Drama Records founders BVA & Leaf Dog alongside the latter’s brother Illinformed. They would make their eponymous full-length studio debut in the summer of 2013 under High Focus Records, getting back together almost 5 & a half years later now that half of The 4 Owls have been expanding their RLD imprint making a highly-anticipated Return to Stoney Island for an official sophomore effort.
“Smokey Smokey” begins with a boom bap instrumental talking about not knowing who to trust whereas “Can’t Touch the Flow” works in a crooning sample flexing that they always keep it raw to the core musically. “Duckits” featuring M.O.P. finds the quintet coming together to drop off 4 hardcore verses over a jazzy beat leading into “Everything” soulfully talking about feeling fucked up lost within their minds & the inability of remembering what normal was.
Smellington Piff appears on “Fanning the Flames” hooking up an orchestral flip to talk about everyone knowing their names while “Reverse Forecast” samples these strings for a moment remembering their homie Keith who had unfortunately passed away. “Overseers” featuring Inspectah Deck talks about holding the art form down like museum pieces until “Capital I” soulfully advising the world listening to do it themselves since you won’t know without trying.
The title track featuring Young Z gives off an eerie boom bap atmosphere starting the 2nd half saying fuck the world until they’re gone while the soulful boom bap crossover “Feed for the Greed” talking about those getting punked by the greedy. “The Desert” gives off a bluesier tone to the beat showing off their storytelling abilities of being trapped in a sandy area while “On a Roam” flips an accordion so they can talk about getting in their zone.
Rome Streetz appears for “The Ending” nearing Return to Stoney Island’s final moments sampling a violin with some kicks & snares sprinkled in the fold acknowledging all these MCs being aware of their demise while the bluesy “Can’t See Me” talks about trying to make it home as well as shooting signals at the dome. “Stone of the Brothers” featuring Eric the Red jazzily wraps things up pissing on major labels in the middle of their witchcraft rituals.
Elevating the same formula the Brothers of the Stone used for their self-titled debut for High Focus during my adolescence, Return to Stoney Island maintains the same enjoyability of it’s predecessor & some might even say that this new full-length could be an instance where the sequel’s better than the original. To their credit: The guest list is tighter, Illinformed’s sample-heavy boom bap production feels nostalgically reminiscent of 90’s east coast hip hop & the chemistry between BVA & Leaf Dog remains strong.
Score: 4.5/5
Legends Will Never Die 