By Odeisel

I remember my first experience with the Mash Out Posse. I was listening to one of their earliest hardcore anthems, Blue Steel and Lil Fame opened the track, “Blam, shooting motherfuckers in the belly…” I immediately turned that shit off and said, “HELL NO!” By the time First Family 4 Life dropped, I was on the bandwagon full steam ahead. It’s been a while since we’ve heard them both together, following their last Snow Goons-produced outing. The crew is back together on P-Money’s The Hardest, off his forthcoming album Gratitude.

The dynamic duo still have their trademark high-powered chemistry and Lil Fame remains his slick talk while Billy Danze retains his gritty aggression. The production doesn’t pack the urgency of those classic DJ Premier/Fizzy Womack productions but it does have enough of a kick to bang in the whip.

P-Money has assembled a host of indie/underground talent for his album including Talib Kweli, Aaradhna, Havoc (of Mobb Deep), Freddie Gibbs, Buckshot, Skyzoo, Fashawn, Roc Marciano, Pac Div, STS, Nicole Wray and more. If the rest of the album is of similar quality then we’ll be treated to yet another solid submission from an act associated with Duck Down Music. The Hardest is a nice first salvo.