This is one of the first tapes released by the independent label Heavy Jewelz. It also represents one of the few projects available in the discography of Othorized FAM, an underground rap group formed by Crunch Lo, Lounge Lo, Molly-Q, and Shawn Wigs. If you've listened to some Cappadonna and Ghostface albums, you've listened to these guys too. Othorized FAM is one of the first groups to try to get out of the Isle of Staten, in fact in 1994 it managed to print a couple of hundred copies of three singles under his own label, Vortex Records, but the act isn't a sensation and ends up in oblivion in a few years, despite few hits with potential.
Around the end of the 2000s, the boys settle a tight one-two with the Chambermusik house, family label for all Wu Killa Beez, which allows the group to release their indie album in 2007, and create a new album the following year. In 2014, Heavy Jewelz decides to put together a couple of 1995 singles along with other unreleased tracks. The production is credited to Kwue Molly aka Molly-Q and 140 Productions, which is a production team affiliated with the group itself.
The tape, consisting of five tracks and twenty minutes of material divided in Staten Side and Gaten Side, retains the mood of the mid-nineties, presenting a vibrant and youthful rap performed by dudes of Staten Island who spit bars on a minimal, raw and dark production, typical of the period, with appreciable melodies, and a much better sound quality than your forgotten and dusty 90s hip-hop tape, because behind it there's a professional mixing and mastering. The rappers deliver very well and it's evident that some of them are in their prime, and the production is enjoyable, with mellow bass lines, discreet and never intrusive drum patterns and delicate loops from Billy Paul and The Stylistics that never steal the show. Worth a listen. 7/10.
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