Ras Kass – “Fallout” review

Ras Kass is a 53 year old MC from Carson, California whose his full-length debut Soul on Ice under Priority Records celebrated its 30th anniversary at the beginning of the month. The father of both Ras & Taj Austin from Coast Contra would go on to drop 13 more studio LPs as well as 7 EPs & 8 mixtapes since, with the Mello Music Group-backed Blasphemy produced by Apollo Brown during my senior year of high school landing at my 2nd favorite in his discography. Coming off Leopard Eats Face distributed by Soulspazm Records only 8 months ago, The Waterproof MC’s not looking to slow down with his 8th extended play.

The title track kicks things off with a soulful boom bap intro produced by P.A. Dre talking about the authentic ones being ostracized whereas “Summer Jam” takes a more seductive route topically, wanting people to understand how beautiful this woman is. “Only You” goes for a crooning trap vibe instrumentally talking about more people needing to become themselves leading into “Bottle Service” featuring All Lyrical & Punchline brings it hardcore with the latter having the strongest guest verse of the 2.

“Autumn Colors” incorporates live drumming from none other than Daru Jones talking about the fact that seasons always change every 3 months & a fool remaining the same no matter what just before “Won’t Do” featuring G-Dep, Grafh & X-Raided finds all 4 lyricists uniting to deliver an onslaught of east coast/west coast penmanship over a sample of “Whoa!” by the late Black Rob & some hi-hats. “God Watching” finishes up the EP soulfully reiterating his take on the meaning of a bar during the 1st verse of “Not Like Us” by Kendrick Lamar where he said he’d beat Drake’s ass with the bible.

I had the honor of meeting Ras Kass in the spring of 2022 when we attended the Outlawz’ final show in Los Angeles preceding the untimely death of Young Noble last summer & although I’m adamant of him having the capability to make something on the caliber of Soul on Ice or Blasphemy in terms of enjoyability, a majority of Fallout’s production leaves me torn although I commend him for his technical proficiency & toning down the number of features compared to the amount Leopard Eats Face had.

Score: 3/5

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GUTTR – “Everything is…GUTTR” review

GUTTR is a newly formed supergroup consisting of Ras Kass, RJ Payne & Havoc. All 3 of whom have been established within hip hop whether it be the waterproof MC’s debut Soul on Ice, RJ decimating anyone in the battle circuit that dared to step up against him under the original moniker Reignman or last but not least Havoc being 1/2 of the greatest duos of all-time Mobb Deep alongside the late Prodigy. Ras & RJ have worked with each other a few times previously, but got one of the East Coast’s most underrated producers as their 3rd member in time to put out a full-length debut.

“Roll Call” featuring Lil’ Fame & Method Manis a grimy way to kick off the album asking where all the real ones at in this bitch whereas “Nostalgia” incorporates a soul sample for the trio to pour one out for all the fallen soldiers we’ve lost along the way. The title track featuring Kurupt & KXNG CROOKED takes the cavernous route talking about how it’s only right for them to get the cheese but after the “RNR Ep. 1” skit, “Once Again It’s On” featuring Twista ruggedly finds everyone in their battle rap shit.

On the other hand, “Different” kinda has a jazzier flare asking not to be compared to any other artists out here while “Lo-Fi” right after the “RNR Ep. 2” skit soulfully talks about liking the atmosphere gritty. “Stop Playin’” featuring Freeway & Raekwon brings back the pianos to tell everyone to not fuck around with them but after the “RNR Ep. 3” skit, the final song “Old Soul” ends GUTTR’s debut warning that gossiping to them will leave you with your head blown clear.

The hardcore hip hop fans are really gonna find themselves gravitating towards GUTTR’s introductory album & hopefully this is only the beginning of more to come from what is recognized as hip hop’s very first unionization. Primarily due to Ras Kass & RJ Payne paying homage to Prodigy by channeling that old Mobb Deep energy, Havoc setting the musical canvas on an entire album for both lyricists to paint their bars, the guests all matching their intensity

Score: 4/5

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The HRSMN – “The Last Ride” review

The HRSMN is a hip hop supergroup consisting of Canibus, Killah Priest, Kurupt & Ras Kass. These 4 have made a name for themselves as some of the most underrated lyricists the culture has ever seen & first formed a little over 20 years ago with a couple of collabs. A mixtape called The Horsemen Project even emerged in late 2003, which was followed up with the Historic EP just 11 years later. Fast forward to present day, they’re coming back together for their official full-length album.together for what they say is their first & only official full-length album.

After the “Sintro”, the Bronze Nazareth-produced “Centaurs” is an organ-inflicted boom bap kickstarter to the album where the 4 lyricists compare themselves to that of the Greek mythology creature whereas “This Shit Right Here” is a rugged hip hop quotable fest. As for “Champion” with Planet Asia & Chino XL, I appreciate the content about being victors but the instrumental is just so minimal. However, “Morticians” is a theatrical banger comparing themselves to that of the grim reaper.

Meanwhile on “1 Second”, we have The HRSMN & Hus Kingpin hopping aboard a trap beat saying they spit sicker than COVID-19 before “Love n War” takes a turn into awkward romance ballad territory. “Believer” is a symphonic anthem about celebrating Passover by meeting death & after the “False Profits” skit, we go into a more luxurious sound whilst speaking on their longevity on “Apocalips Now”.

“Impossible” gets on their battle rap shit over a sly instrumental leading up Phil Da Agony, El Gant, Al Tejada & Fokis accompanying the quartet on the keyboard heavy “Burger King” telling anyone to bring the beef to them. Finally there’s the title track, which has occultist vibes in the beat & the supergroup is bidding everyone farewell given the fact that they said this was gonna be their only album.

It took these guys 2 decades to finally put out an LP together & I’m not mad at it being their only one as a unit because I enjoyed quite a bit of it. All 4 emcees sound great with each other & most importantly, the mixing/mastering on here is a lot more cleaner than it was on The Horsemen Project.

Score: 4/5