Tag: Krux 1

Mission: Infect – “epideM:Ic” review

This is the 7th studio LP from underground hip hop collective Mission: Infect consisting of Lo Key, Badluck, Dubbs, Fia Fawn, KruX 1, Madd Maxxx, Malaria, St. Sinna & 0. They’ve released their previous 6 full-lengths together in the span of nearly 2 decades including the Chemical Threats tetralogy, XterM:Ination & Asphyxiation with quite a few other members finding success on their own as solo artists in the wicked shit scene. Returning in 2024 with their arM:Igeddon extended play, they’re returning in time for an epideM:Ic.

After the “Incoming Transmission” intro, we get a sequel to “Throw ‘Em Up” off the 2nd installment of the Criminal Threats series performed by Lo Key & Badluck whereas “Body Drop” aggressively talks about the crew slaughtering all opponents over a boom bap instrumental. “Bring the Noise” explains that this is basically chemical warfare to Neon Sermon & Dubbs rather than another song while “Call 2 Arms” lets both Lo Key & Dubbs blow off some lyrical steam for a few minutes.

“Bullets & Spraypaint” starts the 2nd half talking about LOKE & Fia Fawn’s only purpose here being to infest the brains of those listening leading into “Soldiers of Death” explains the voices in their heads telling them to kill all enemies. “Contagion” after the “Message from Grey” skit takes a more conscious approach topically over an apocalyptic beat & once “Blackout” brings the revolution live from the frontlines, the outro “Starting Over” provides an anthem for the rebellious to grab their gas masks & march to.

Originally slated to come out a year earlier, Lo Key ended up temporarily scrapping epideM:Ic for due to the lack of involvement from all the other Mission: Infect generals & I’m surprisingly overjoyed that he was able to get 6 others who’ve been around since Day 1 to be apart of the final product alongside the 2 newest additions to the crew. They’ve even jokingly said the album probably doesn’t have anything to do with the ongoing hantavirus situation & not only does M:I lyrically turn brains into black cherry slurpees, but them hinting at recruiting more artists to join & more output collectively seems like a promising beginning of making up for being inactive for long periods of time.

Score: 4/5

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Neon Sermon – “001” review

Neon Sermon are a horrorcore trio consisting of BatiBatt, Krux 1 & Lo Key. The latter of whom is most notable for being the leader of the Mission: Infect collective with Bati being his wife & Krux as his latest protege, joining the crew last year. They only have a couple songs under their belt together prior to bringing Bati into the picture couple months back for the lead single coinciding with the news of the trio’s formation & are following it up by dropping their debut EP enlisting former Strange Music in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 behind the boards for the entire thing.

After the “Signal Received” intro, the first song “Doomsday Device” references former NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, 4-time WCW World Television Champion, 8-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Famer, 5-time WWE United States Champion & WWE Intercontinental Champion Ricky Steamboat. whereas “Beamed Up” dives deeper into electronic territory looking for smoke. “GODZILLA” works in a trap beat to admit they they feel like the King of the Monsters with some speedy flows as well as a freshly chopped & screwed Eminem sample for the hook, but then “Level Up” takes a more abrasive route to declare sermon now being in session.

The song “B.I.A.T.D.A.T.L.M.O.M.F.K. (Bitch I Am The Devil And They Let Me Out My Fuckin’ Kettle)” returns to an EDM-influenced sound comparing themselves to Satan & that they’ve been let loose while the penultimate track “The Sickness” detours into boom bap territory talking about how no one’s ready for this. “You Now Belong to Us” on the other hand sends 001 off with an electronic/trap hybrid asking to step into their spaceship with a melodic hook that I consider to be the best throughout the whole thing.

Lo Key has been known for dabbling with completely different sounds with the most recent example being his nu metal-influenced 13th EP Metanoia last spring or even the last solo album The Eyes of Parasuva taking on a more alt-rock vibe & that’s exactly what he did here with his fellow Neon Sermon brethren. 7 embraces a heavy EDM influence over the course of a good bulk of his instrumentals with KruX turning the chemistry between him & his mentor up to 11.

Score: 4/5