Here’s an album that’s off the radar, even for hardcore Hip Hop heads. I tried searching for it on google and couldn’t find one existing review. Nevertheless, it is in my opinion one of the greatest rap albums of the past ten years. Aside from top-notch beats and lyrics, the album functions as an incredibly cohesive whole, the factor which separates good albums from masterpieces. This is achieved by immaculate song arrangement and track listing, as well as numerous interludes interwoven into the songs. Dez handles the rhyming, and Nobs handles production. Both of them keep it extremely grimy. Upon first hearing Dez you might think, “Wow, this is one pissed off dude!” Yet delving deeper into his lyrics reveals humor, pain, frustration, wit, and intellect. Not to mention the fact that he can flow with the best of them. Also, Dez’s Albany upbringing (not the first place you’d think to look for dope rappers) provides a unique perspective that comes across in his writing.
(click more to sample a song & read more)
Nobs’s beats should garner him an award for old school boom bap heroism, because that is exactly what he serves up on Behemoth. If you’re a 90s Hip Hop fiend like myself, this will quench your thirst for hard-hitting, sample-based jams that get your head nodding uncontrollably.
Things start off with a brief, though intriguing intro which transitions into the title track. Dez gets right into it, leading off with, “elephant face, chainsaws for tusks/ we put together a tape, we straight bored as fuck!”. From here on out it is clear that this album has in your face, balls out Hip Hop written all over it. Tracks like “Awe” and “Lemmeeguess” showcase Nobs’s ability to seamlessly incorporate vocal snippets into his beats and Dez’s ability to deftly maneuver around them, utilizing them as parts of his own verses. Between these two tracks lies “Fingerprinterlude” (named for the duo’s label, Fingerprint), a sedated instrumental groove that never gets skipped when I bump Behemoth. “Before…” and “…After” are two sick tracks that hit like a one-two punch, the former being an intense, fast tempo jam, and the latter being a slower, melancholy reflection. The next joint, “Xenophobia,” is my personal favorite off the album. Nobs laces it with an eerie, indescribably sickening beat, and Dez holds it down as hard as rapperly possible with the rhymes. A favorite line of mine (which sounds even iller in context) is, “as they pry the aborted fetus from the stork’s beak/ and gently lay a glistening new-born corpse at your feet.” Furthermore, Nobs brings in a completely unexpected sample for the chorus, which sounds like day compared to the verses’ night. “Fresh Out the Box” is an ode to the sneaker heads, and Dez packs it with enough footwear-related punch lines to keep you interpreting new meanings with each listen. “Girl, Interrupted” details Dez’s encounter with a low down, dirty groupy, while “Beatrice” takes shots at transvestites and other effeminate fellows. The secret track that drops in two minutes after the end of the final song is another tasty morsel. Here Dez is joined by Fingerprint comrade Eibol (pronounced eye ball) who drops lines like, “freaky flow, dynamic duo, peep the status quo/ kids love us like Yugioh but still download the music though.” Clearly, Fingerprint has something going on that most other Hip Hops camps will aspire to but never reach.
It’s a shame that Behemoth is unknown to most Hip Hop listeners. It can easily be bumped the whole way through, even at 17 tracks. I didn’t have enough space in this review to mention the numerous interludes that occur at the end of many songs. These recall classics of the early 90s, giving Behemoth a definite sense of nostalgia. If you’re in the mood for aggressive, yet intelligent rhymes, and dusty, fist-pumping beats, check out Behemoth.
Reviewed By: Benny ELs
Favorite Song: Xenophobia
