By TJ Love
It’s no secret that the comic book world and Hip-Hopnshare a lot of things in common. Larger than life heroes and villains, aliases and alter egos, epic battles, and uncanny skills and abilities along with their outsider status in their respective mediums has engendered a mutual respect. Fortunately in a hip hop universe already populated by the likes of David Banner, MF DOOM, Jean Grae, Dr. Octagon, and a host of others is there’s always room for another colorful character. Enter Czarface, the brainchild of Wu-Tang Clan’s Inspectah Deck and Beantown producer and emcee duo 7L and Esoteric. It’s reasonable to question how three respected industry vets somehow unite under the guise of one persona and to wonder whether the character in question is a hero, vigilante, or villain. Such inquiries however take a back seat to the quality of the end product, their eponymous album Czarface.
Czarface is every hip hop purist’s match made in Asgard. Inspectah Deck has been on innumerable classics while 7L and Esoteric have paid so many dues in the underground that their legacy is too big to fail in the backdrop of hip hop’s creative Great Recession. Outside of joints by DJ Premier and Oh No, 7L handles the bulk of the production duties on a project that sounds close to vintage Wu, down to the dusty kung fu flick sound bites and oft times dissonant raw boom bap. Czarface also boasts a stellar lineup of guest shots with Action Bronson, Ghostface, Cappadonna, Mr. Muthafuckin’ eXquire, Roc Marciano, and Vinnie Paz all joining Czarface’s crusade against the forces of wackness.
Czarface blasts out the gate with “Air Em Out”, a hard-charging, combative banger anchored by M.O.P. ad libs that serves as the perfect mission statement for an ass kicking comic book character. Rebel INS and Esoteric set the bar high for the rest of the album with textbook execution and maintain the high level of lyricism over all 14 tracks. “Czar Refeali”featuring Oh No in the booth and on the boards, is sinister enough to inspire fear in the hearts of men, if they can stop nodding their head to the nasty RZA-esque combination of minor keys and menacing drums. To Esoteric’s credit, he stepped his pen game up in a major way on Czarface. Not that he wasn’t a serviceable emcee before, but duke found himself in the presence of a legend and not only held his own but consistently delivered sicker bars. “Rock Beast” exhibits an emcee on some true super hero ish with Esoteric coupling flawless cadence and superior punchlines.
…you don’t wanna test the duel/I been blessed with a jewel/I am destined to rule/ with heat on deck, like INS with a tool/here’s a cup for the drool/I’m a super villain illin’ call me Raz Al Goul/who is Bruce Wayne?/hey man, cool chain/I train with Shaolin monks, no Liu Kang…
DJ Premier sets the table lovely with “Let it Off”, supplying Czarface with some of his best production in recent memory and it’s proof positive the man isn’t even sniffing falling off, he’s getting better with age. Call his style formulaic but there’s a reason he’s the undisputed pioneer of the East Coast sound. Primo brings his signature drums, veteran sampling acumen, and neck-snapping best for Deck to uncork some of the magic he and Primo concocted on “Above the Clouds”, and the bars he brought belong in the same conversation as their first team up.
In a year littered with garbage ass releases by radio-ready also-rans Czarfaceis the equivalent of a meal at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse after a steady diet of McDonald’s and Taco Bell. If you want club tracks, coke raps, cuts for the ladies, and insincere stories of vulnerability and introspection, this shit ain’t for you. Inspectah Deck brings an edgier Shaolin sensibility to 7L and Esoteric’s aesthetic and they bring something sorely needed to the game. Skilled emcees bodying dope beats all damn day long.
Out of 5
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