Vitamin G – “Prophet of Doom” review

Here we have the official solo debut album from London, England, United Kingdom emcee Vitamin G. Known for being 1/3 of CMPND alongside Kemastry & Wundrop, he would also comprise 1/2 of the duo Illitamin G with Illiterate & made their debut in the spring of 2019. Establishing himself as an MC of his own in February a couple years later with the Isolean in Quarentation extended play, I was more interested in the fact Mr. Slipz was fully producing Prophet of Doom under High Focus Records.

After the “Wid the Snippets” intro, the title track comes out swinging with a gully boom bap instrumental talking about being an unstoppable force whereas “High Scores” works in a Middle Eastern sample advising to stay conditioned since the place he’s at can make that kind of switch if they wanted to. “Hailstorm” has a cloudier boom bap vibe flexing he only puts his hands together when he sneezes or beatboxes while “5th Dimension” featuring Pique Roscoe joins forces for a decent hardcore hip hop track.

“Never Lost It” brings a somber boom bap vibe to the table talking about how he hasn’t lost a step unless his head’s gone enraged just before the downtrodden “Vulnerable Youngens” featuring Kieran dedicates itself to all the children in the world having it rough in life. “From the Drop” reaches Prophet of Doom’s halfway point talking about making this shit look easy while “Bleeding the Steeze” kicks off the 2nd act dustily boasts he’ll get on the grind despite not being a skater.

Bil Next joins G on “Boiling Point” instrumentally keeping things in the basement & talking about them fitting the description of fulfilling a quota while “Shelly Ann” featuring Tommy Mila & Wates after the “Get to the Shubz” skit brings the trio together to discuss repping their brands. Farma G& Jehst both drop some of my favorite guest verses during “The Internet”, where they talk about being fine where they are presently because they each have everything they need.

“Struggling to Swim” begins Prophet of Doom’s last let coming to terms with everything being what it is whether some pissing in the wind & others sinking into an abyss while the cavernously raw “Not Speaking” talking about being in the corner without saying a word. Possi’o” featuring Axel Holy, Sk!nt, Shogun & Verbz brings the quintet together staying the same as they were when everyone was younger while “The End” concludes by talking about his flammable penmanship.

This guy’s multi-syllable rhyme schemes have always been a distinctive attribute to the warm feedback both of CMPND’s full-lengths received, but I unfortunately found myself a little torn with the Prophet of Doom’s outcome especially considering all 4 singles were highly enjoyable. There are absolutely no issues with Mr. Slipz’ production & the same can be said regarding Vitamin G’s lyrics, I just feel like they went harder with the guests than they should’ve rounding up almost a dozen of them throughout his inaugural LP.

Score: 3/5

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CMPND – “Eagle Court II: Long Live the Court” review

Brighton, England, United Kingdom trio CMPND consisting of Kemastry, Wundrop & Vitamin G back for a sophomore effort. All 3 of which are lyricists in their own right & Wundrop in particular being their in-house producer. The historic Hove, East Sussex underground imprint High Focus Records signed them & their debut album Eagle Court named after the residential flats these guys grew up together. It has since been demolished, reforming to make a sequel saying Long Live the Court.

“Ain’t Gonna Fold” produced by none other than Wundrop begins with this uncanny trap instrumental talking about never backing down from anything whereas “Weaintplayin” works in some strings & hi-hats cautioning that they ain’t fucking around with anybody. “Court in Session” radiates a psychedelic trap vibe assuring that they ain’t bitches begging for sympathy while “Acid Reign” asks why live life on a timer when the money winds up evaporating.

Meanwhile regarding “Nice Riot”, we have CMPND over this unsettling beat homaging the song “Riot Akt” off Gang Starr’s penultimate album The Ownerz prior to Hutch joining the 3 for “Illeagle Court II” following up the themes of it’s predecessor Hutch also made an appearance on off the original Eagle Court album. “D.I.T.D. (Down In The Dumps)” shifts in favor of an ominous atmosphere dissing rappers relying on clout while “The Culprit” talks about fucking up their lives to finish the 2nd quarter.

“Pick a Card” starts the 2nd half passionately speaking of the only thing they can do is being themselves & do what they do grippin’ mics until “Skrewed” featuring Bil Next finds the quartet getting back to the killstreak they’ve been needing for a bit. “Guaranteed Wins” dustily talks about indifference being a bigger disease than death itself than just before “Tiny Violin” featuring Datkid & PAV4N viciously boasts of their own grind.

The soulfulness of “Playinu” hits quite perfectly talking about their best their be the greatest versions of themselves doing his things daily and it’s The Truman Show while “Suh Quelle” hypnotically acknowledges a comparison between Vitamin G & Danny Brown, which I can’t argue being a Detroiter myself. “Went There” on the other hand carries forward talking about taking it to lengths others didn’t think they could when Eagle Court exists.

“Bojangles Jesus” embraces a cavernously woozy atmosphere instrumentally advising to stay clever with everything you do until the due respect comes while “Crazy Town” returns to the boom bap talking about still pursuing the dream despite it not being what it used to be because of the culture forever evolving. “Griezmann” featuring Truemendous finishes Eagle Court II: Long Live the Court with both High Focus labelmates rightfully boasting their status amongst the best around their necks of the woods.

I’d still prefer Eagle Court between the 2 full-lengths CMPND has given us so far, but the successor Long Live the Court will still satisfy fans of the group for it’s solid testament of staying true to themselves. Kemastry, Vitamin G & Wundrop pick up right where they left off 3 years earlier mixing insanity, debauchery, pain, pleasure, introspection & surrealism into a deludamolic delicacy of raucously depraved antics admirably carrying the former housing flats’ spirit gracefully.

Score: 3.5/5

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CMPND – “Eagle Court” review

CMPND is a hip hop trio from Brighton, England, United Kingdom consisting of Kemastry, Wundrop & Vitamin G. All 3 of which are lyricists in their own right & Wundrop in particular being their in-house producer. Introducing themselves 6 months previously, the group has already been making enough waves to the point where the historic Hove, East Sussex underground imprint High Focus Records agreeably realizing they’d be a great for the label & signed them in time for their full-length studio debut album to arrive as the 4th quarter of the year begins.

The title track produced by none other than Wundrop talking about what it was like for them growing up in the very housing complex that made CMPND who they are whereas the 3rd & final single “E.W.A. (Eagles With Attitude)” gives middle fingers to the feds, including an awesome shoutout to Jeru the Damaja too. “Solid Air” has a more hypnotic trap vibe instrumentally talking about being more sinful than symbols just before “Whatuplayin@” acknowledges the word around the streets of their greatness.

“Illeagle Court” featuring Hutch shifts towards a cloudy boom bap direction to the beat cautioning that shit really goes down around their neck of the woods leading into “Home Runs” featuring Verbz marking the first of 2 appearances from the latter admitting that they still can’t find peace out in the streets. “U Know We Fly” talks about being crazier than Warner Bros.’ flagship franchise Looney Tunes while “Arjun Robben” ends the 1st half boasting to be the Ps who don’t do Qs.

Kicking off the 3rd quarter, “Dusty Ivory” returns to the boom bap confessing they shouldn’t rule the world because of the self-awareness of barely being responsible for their own actions while “Flight 370” dissects the Malaysia Airlines Flight in March of 2014 that infamously disappeared. “Instant Wins” gives off secondary influences of psychedelic music down to the slurred chorus talking about being ahead of the pack while “Paraphrase” featuring Verbz finds themselves keeping their heads above the hemisphere.

“Silence in Court” begins Eagle Court’s final leg explain explaining that we’re all corpses of our former selves in the grand scheme of things yearning for new lungs & company while “Purpatrait” talks about breaking rules despite not playing games. “Hindenburg” featuring Dirty Dike, Fliptrix, HERBiCiDE, Nuphzed & Stinkin’ Slumrok comes together for a 7 minute posse cut where Dike, the High Focus CEO himself & Slumrok shine the most while “Days to Daze” ends with an introspectively soulful outro.

Taking the title of CMPND’s inaugural LP after the blocks of flats all 3 members met & grew up together, these guys bring a whole new vision & aesthetic to the forefront devoid of outside distractions & influences only marking the beginning of a bright future under High Focus Records. Whether it be Wundrop’s production influenced by boom bap as well as grime & UK drill in addition to his critical social commentary or Vitamin G’s multi-syllables & Kemastry’s unpredictability, the new era of UK hip hop has already arrived.

Score: 4/5