The Roots — Do You Want More?!!!??!

In 1995, all hip-hop artists managed to release a masterful album, from Fat Joe to 2Pac, from Liks to Onyx, from Dogg Pound to Group Homie, but not the Roots.

Dom Pachino — The Militant Godfather

Even Dom Pachino goes to put the logo of Francis Ford Coppola's film "The Godfather" on the cover of his album, without giving up his military uniform and placing the map of Staten Island in the background. Title and logo are justified by the fact that the rapper puts two short clips of the '72 flick in the first two tracks and that, basically, the first serves to introduce him as the Staten Island boss in substitution of Victor Stracci. This is still not enough to make it a mafia rap disk, the concept isn't well explored. The music is created entirely by Mr. Tera except for da "Illest Latin Rapper", where DJ Eclipse provides the scratches and the producer of Team Napalm Dub Sonata returns to put his name in a Dom Pachino project fourteen years after the last time. The guests are Bugsy da God (also credited with Teraban, the duo formed together with Dom Pachino) and Uneek Kinetic. Wrapped up in ten short tracks of autopilot rap and cheap boom bap production, the tape is underwhelming and below the standard set by the rapper over the decades.

DJ Khaled — Major Key

The last thing you can expect is that DJ Khaled not only improves on his ninth studio album, but releases what is actually his best record. The production is a generic, poor and bland selection of forgettable trap rhythms, however, the rappers manage to balance the effort worthily. Among others, there are Jay-Z, Future, Nas, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, YG, Jadakiss, Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne. There are only ten good minutes in the hour of this tape and they're those between the best track on the album, "Nas Album Done", on a Fugees sample, and the J. Cole spot. This is enough to make it the closest thing to a decent Khaled LP, so much so that even critics can't ignore it anymore: with Epic, he's at the top of Billboard 200 and urban records in the UK for the first time, earning his first album gold certified in a few months and his second platinum a few years later. Critics welcomed it positively, a sign that everyone knew that there wouldn't be another Khaled album done so well. 5.5/10.

Dom Pachino — I.C.O.N.

New album by Dom Pachino, rapper with one of the largest and most coherent discographies among Wu affiliates. He produces half the effort under the pseudonym Mr. Tera, leaving the remaining beats to Shang-Hi Muzic, Diamond Legit, Reversal Music and Sam da Grouch. The guest spots for Bugsy da God, Recognize Ali, Holocaust and Lizzy, are strategically placed and Bugsy's presence is always good. On these simple boom bap rhythms, with dirty and dusty midtempo drums and annoying and haunting samples that sound better in the second part, the Killarmy rapper entertains the listener with a regular style for three quarters of an hour and proves he's still in shape, signing an interesting project that strengthens its catalog.

Dom Pachino — Soldiers Need Love Too

Tape almost entirely dedicated to women, which despite the modest number of tracks, is excessive in the poor quality of the offer, seeing him spitting bars on a selection of cheap and forgettable rhythms. Falling Down remains a rare certainty in Dom Pachino's team of trusted producers (which includes the same author under the moniker Mr. Tera), the others disappoint and don't create pleasant rhythms. This record makes its way into the worst side of his discography.

Taiyamo Denku — Do You Want Bars?

Taiyamo Denku comes from a long collaborative run with German producer BoFaat and hits the spot by releasing this CD, published by the labels of Fredro Starr of Onyx (100 MAD) and of D-Cypha (CyphaDen Music). 15 tracks, just under an hour of material. This project is Denku's first credited solo effort in 2022, though the production is entirely handled by BoFaat. You may not read star names in this tape, unlike many other efforts released by the prolific Wisconsin emcee in recent years, but the boys do an excellent job together with Denku in this hour, on a quality boom bap production provided by BoFaatBeatz, who's emerging as one of the best producers on the underground circuit in recent seasons.

Inside are names you should already know such as Nature (of The Firm), Timbo King (Royal Fam), Freeway (State Property) Punchline & Wordsworth (EMC), Gift of Gab (Blackalicious), Chris Rivers, Mood and Shyheim (Wu Killa Beez), among others. The sound quality never drops below a certain level, which is important support for the rapper, who almost manages to hide the fact that hooks are the weak point of his tracks and delivers with an easy, confident and regular style, building one of his best records. 7/10.

Denny LaFlare — Jewels of the Wild

Entirely instrumental album made by Brooklyn producer Denny LaFlare, who in the past collaborated with Westside Gunn: "Lunchin" and "Birkin" are beats taken from "Flygod Is an Awesome God", while "One More Hit" is taken from the instrumental of the freestyle realized by the same artist.

RZA & Bobby Digital — RZA Presents: Bobby Digital and the Pit of Snakes

Fourteen years later, The RZArector resurrects Bobby Digital for his two projects of 2022, the collaborative effort with DJ Scratch and this tape, an eight-track soundtrack for his future graphic novel. The music is produced by RZA and Stone Mecca, main guest.

These tracks seem like a coherent disappointing follow-up to "Digi Snacks" and "Afro Samurai". RZA aka Bobby Digital transforms himself into a kung-fu b-movie storyteller in the first track, over a simple and prudent indie rock beat, accompanied by a sung pop hook. The second track features another indie rock rhythm. The guy enters the song and remembers he has to rap or at least do something similar, and then he starts talking louder than usual, before giving way to another pop chorus. The rest of the tape advances with this formula, Bobby Digital speaks over indie rock productions by building pop songs entirely centered around hard-to-tackle lame hooks.

It's welcome that RZA tries to vary its sound and that he experiments, unfortunately this half hour record doesn't work, further weakening his catalog. This effort goes away without leaving anything and is so insignificant that you don't even notice how it can also be the worst album released by RZA and one of the worst of the Staten Island supergroup.

Dom Pachino — T-4 (At Your Front Door)

T-4 means "Tera Iz Him 4", is the fourth chapter of his album series started in 2002. The production is performed by Diamond Legit, Hazardis Soundz, BeastBeatsNY, Bronze Nazareth, DUS, Shang-Hi Music, DJ MK-Zoo, Nec Nymbi, Surge Cess, Mr. Tera (aka Dom Pachino) and Falling Down. The guests are Recognize Ali, Shyheim, JoJo Pellegrino, Bugsy da God, Tommy Whispers and Trife Diesel of TMF, Method Man of Wu-Tang Clan and Shabaam Sahdeeq. Composed of 19 tracks and about 65 minutes of listening, the tape is one of the best efforts made by Dom Pachino. The music chosen by the producers is quite competent, boom bap with robust drums and good samples, and the performer's rap is better than in several of his past projects, aided by a plethora of remarkably talented MCs. Songs with Recognize Ali, Shyheim, Jojo Pellegrino, Trife Diesel and Method Man stand out above the other tracks. It's not one of the strongest tapes of an extraordinarily prolific season, but it's a fun listen that hardcore Killa Beez fans will appreciate. 6.5/10.

Christbearer — For Christ Sake II (Knowledge, Wisdom, Understanding)

Second chapter of the trilogy conceived by Shaka Amazulu the 7th for the Los Angeles rapper Christbearer, member of the North Star, the Black Knights of North Star and the largest crew West Coast Killa Beez. Here, Shaka Amazulu drops the big shots and tries to bring in as many Killa Beez artists as possible to charge this effort: in the production department he puts himself at the forefront and is joined by the Wu-Elements Bronze Nazereth and 4th Disciple, by the member of Monstar Mob Skarekrow, Darkim Be Allah of AIG and Al-Hajar-Ul-Aswad (alter-ego of Shaka Amazulu), among others. The guests are School of the Gifted, Shabazz the Disciple of Sunz of Man, Holocaust, Meko and the Black Knights of the North Star.

The album is more coherent than the first chapter, the music sounds a little better, the rapping sounds a little better, even if the record lacks of bangers and songs that stand out from the others. Black Knights of the North Star aren't wrong and offer the best track in "Once Upon a Time in Cali" on the splendid beat of Darkim Be Allah, the rest is sensationally negligible, both because the guests don't sound their best and because the three Wu-Elements rhythms sound exactly like scraps, they're even better than all the North Star debut production, but still scraps. Not recommended.

Christbearer — For Christ Sake I (Father, Son, Ghost)

Andre Johnson made himself known to the public more for some private events than for the quality of his music offered during a twenty-year career in hip-hop. RZA signs the Black Knights of North Star in the late nineties with Wu-Tang Records, then the collective splits into two distinct groups, Black Knights on one side and North Star on the other, and Christ Bearer continues to record music in this latest group along with Meko the Pharaoh. The RZA heavily produced record released in 2003 should throw them into the circuit, but that just doesn't happen: wikipedia puts among the "professional" reviews an amazon one in which there's someone who had the bold to write that the music of North Star is in summary the Wu Tang who meets Dr. Dre. Unfortunately, there's nothing further from that phrase, having listened to the North Star album.

In 2016, Christbearer releases his first solo disk, it's the first of a trilogy, and behind him is the mind of Shaka Amazulu the 7th and his Black Stone of Mecca label. The production is entirely created by Skarekrow of Da Monstar Mob and the guests are names you may never have heard, except Black Knights of North Star, who reunite in "Time & Time Again", one of the two best choices on the record, where Christbearer, Rugged Monk, Crisis the Sharpshooter and Meko alternate on a production that is finally honest and livable. The other highlight of the album is represented by "The God": Skarekrow finds a cheerful rhythm and the rapper spits bars for less than two minutes, in one of his best career tracks. The rest of the tape doesn't sound fine, the rhythms are missing something and the rap isn't the best you can hear from the performer.

Dom Pachino — T-3 (The Killer Concoction)

T-3 means "Tera Iz Him 3", this is the new chapter of the series that inaugurated the prolific career of Dom Pachino aka The PR Terrorist, and comes out eleven years after the previous episode. Production is handled by Mr. Tera (aka Dom Pachino), DJ MK-Zoo, Beast Beats NY, OCR Beats, SlideBeatz and Sam da Grouch. Guests are Recognize Ali and Bugsy da God. The Puerto Rican Terrorist spits hardcore for forty minutes divided into thirteen tasteless tracks, not too bad, never noteworthy. Not recommended.

North Star — Bobby Digital Presents: Northstar

What a mess! But how did we get here? Let's rewind the tape from the beginning. After releasing "Wu-Tang Forever" in 1997, RZA decides to look out West Coast for rap talent and stumbles upon the Black Knights of the North Star, a six-star hip-hop group: Crisis, Rugged Monk, Doc Doom!, Holocaust, Christbearer and Meko the Pharaoh. RZA signs it to Wu-Tang Records and takes it to perform on "The Swarm" (1998), then the group splits into two different acts, Black Knights (Crisis, Monk, Doc Doom! and Holocaust) and North Star (Christbearer and Meko). The two groups both perform in "Ghost Dog" (2000) and in "The Sting" (2002), the Black Knights should come out with their own CD in 2001, but the record has been postponed.

C.O.I.N.S. — Bit-C.O.I.N.S. (Digital Coins)

The second CD in a semester for C.O.I.N.S. consists of fourteen tracks recorded between 2000 and 2002 and a bonus with Sharecka aka Rhyme Recca, who collaborated with Armel in the early 2000s. The guests include Sunz of Man, Timbo King and Shaka Amazulu the 7th. "Say What You Want" could be the best track of the Ancient COINS, especially thanks to P Sunn and Hell Razah and a glossy production far from everything else, the rest of the tape is incoherent and with a cheap production.

Dom Pachino aka PR Terrorist — Gunz on the Speaker (Return of the Terrorist)

This effort marks the return of PR Terrorist, ten years after the release of the latest chapter of "Tera Iz Him". Eight tracks, just over twenty minutes, is cataloged as an EP. Either way, the rapper spits thug bars over the beats of Lord Beatjitzu, Tricky Trippz, Baschi, Dunnezy and GP Science. Bugsy da God is the only guest of the project in one of the salient songs ("Offended"), the other one is "Blade Runner": the song has nothing of Ridley Scott's magic film or Villeneuve's recent and deep sequel, but PR Terrorist's careful rap and the cinematic sample guessed by GP Science allow this piece to stand out from the rest in the project.

Dom Pachino — Firegod: The Gift of Fire

Dom Pachino stands in the midst of hundreds of corpses, leaving behind him the metropolitan metropolis enveloped in a rain of snow and ash, emerging victorious from a battle thanks to the gift of fire represented by the flames that come out from his hands, while a helicopter crashes in the background, evidently shot down by the emcee himself. There's also the gift of a better production than most of his records and whose credit, at least for half of the album, seems to be attributed to Tricky Trippz, name behind which there are some of the best tracks of the project (title track, "Golden Era"). The other half is handled by Dash Shamash, DunnEzy, Wize Elementz and Anthai, guests are Miss Patty and Bugsy da God. Thanks to effective rapping and a compact product, the Stapleton rapper provides what at the time of release is the most solid solo record of him.

C.O.I.N.S. — Ancient Coins

When Armel starred on the GZA album in 2002 and later signs with his Liquid Swords Entertainment label, his group Ancient C.O.I.N.S. (acronym for Calculating Old Into New School) recorded enough material to release a couple of CDs, but he never got the chance to. In 2003, Armel publishes a project with Liquid Swords in an attempt to revive the Ancient Coins, but the effort falls under the radar, passing unnoticed. The right opportunity comes when Shaka Amazulu the 7th decides to dust off the recordings and give the group the opportunity to put together something to publish it through his Black Stone of Mecca. Entirely produced by Life Exists, with a beat provided by Masters Of The Art Production for the bonus track "Ahhh!!!", the album consists of 38 minutes of material recorded between 1996 and 1998 by the group formed by the main rapper Armel, present in every track, Destroya, the late Got Flow, Holy Smokes, Spanky Splash, J.R. Spoons and High Price. Makeba Mooncycle is the main guest with two appearances. There are a couple of honest melodic tracks ("Droppin' Mics" and "The Starters") and the Makeba spots are good, the rest leaves a little to be desired, these guys have good will and Shaka Amazulu has cleaned up a bit the beats in the remastering, but if you don't listen to it you don't miss anything.

Dom Pachino — Digital Warfare

I don't know what happened in "Digital Warfare", but unlike most of Dom Pachino's previous discography, here everything seems to be going well and working. Music is credited to Dunnezy, Dash Shamash, KYS Music, Falling Down, and Mr. Tera aka Dom Pachino, while Bugsy da God is the only guest. The cover is different and shinier than usual, has a "Matrix" matrix and looks modern. Dom Pachino's rapping is the most focused, inspired, smoothness, and ultimately, best ever, and Bugsy da God, Teraban's other half alongside Dom Pachino, is an addition that gives the project an extra boost. Falling Down always has one or at least two rhythms in the PR Terrorist records, but it never fails and also in this record it places one of the best rhythms. Dunnezy guesses one beat out of four, Dash Shamash one out of three, and Mr. Tera's is also among the most enjoyable productions, which is enough to make it one of the best records in Dom Pachino's vast catalog, if not his best. Devoid of weak points, if you want to hear one of the Killarmy soldier's projects, I think this could be a good listen. 6.5/10.

Buddha Monk — The Prophecy

If Russell "Ol' Dirty Bastard" Jones managed to spit something out to complete his debut studio album it's due to the one who managed to bring him into the studio at each session and keep him standing in front of the mic, his hype-man Ellery "Buddha Monk" Chambers, one of the lesser-known figures within the Wu-Tang world. In 1998, Buddha Monk released his first LP for the European market through the German independent label Edel Records, and international distribution is ensured through an agreement with Sony. The following year the album is also released in the United States with a slightly different cover, the outline around the central figure and the author's name changes from gray to white and the title name changes from white to red. The content is the same.

Dom Pachino vs. P.R. Terrorist — Gemini Mind

Dom Pachino publishes solo material seven years after the last time. Dunnezy is employed intensively producing half the effort, the other guys behind the keyboards are the Wu-Tang affiliates Bronze Nazareth, 4th Disciple and Mathematics, all with a rhythm each, plus Jewels Polaar, BP, Anthai and Mr. Tera (aka Dom Pachino). Among the guests, the names of Bugsy da God and Inspectah Deck of Wu-Tang Clan stand out, the latter is the first emcee of the supergroup to participate in an official Dom Pachino album in twenty years of career. Rebel INS and Bugsy do a good job on their tracks, while Dunnezy's colorless production makes the whole central part sluggish, a bit seesaw. The record improves in the finale with tracks produced by 4th Disciple ("Napalm") and Mathematics ("Mind Is a Weapon"), nevertheless, it sounds non-essential in the 2016 scene. 5.5/10.

Black Jesus — T.G.S.N.T.

While faded in the lower left there's the Wu-Tang Clan symbol on the cover of this minor affiliate's debut album, the name of the rapper Black Jesus might say nothing to anyone. In the background planets, in the center, surrounded by a mystical blue aura, the rapper member of Harlem 6, on overlay the name and title in yellow and black, the colors of Wu. That font is illegal, somewhere. The title acronym is for The Greatest Story Never Told. There are no credits for the production, I can only assume that one or more of the Harlem 6 guys are also producers. Whoever it is, they do a job that ruins this project, there's nothing that comes close to being listenable. Harlem 6 are also the main guests of this long album, together with AGR, another member of the group, S. Infinite, Krumbsnatcha and Guru of Gang Starr. Yes, Guru is here, apparently, in a track. There are 18 more. Released by Soul Nuwaubian in 2004, the disc is re-released again two years later by Chambermusik. Not recommended, 1.5/10.

DJ Flipcyide & Solomon Childs — A Legend Stuck in Shaolin

DJ Flipcyide presents Solomon Childs, a Legend Stuck in Shaolin. I think this tape can adequately fall under the definition "mixed bag". There's a bit of trap, there's a bit of boom bap, there's a bit for all tastes, they try to satisfy as many audiences as possible, despite the oriental temples back there, the bright colors and the title which suggests a direct inspiration from the major Hong Kong kung-fu movies of the seventies, may make you think this is a legitimate Wu tape. I'm not saying it isn't, but it's something different than what you might expect.

The production of Beatbusta on this album will not go down in the memory of fans, it's very questionable to want to be generous. Wooden Beats in the intro and Johnny Juliano in the first real track add nothing. In any case, almost surprisingly, Solomon Childs places a couple of bangers just to make this tape worth looking for: the title track, very well produced by Sal Barz, who invents a splendid boom bap, and "Fmcc", boasting a boom bap production supported by an elegant piano scale on which Solomon delivers with a velvety dope flow, and lives directly in the same atmosphere as that other track which is one of the most famous acronyms in hip-hop history. 6/10.

Dom Pachino — Power Rulez

Dom Pachino on solo studio album number six, considering that "Domination" is effectively a mixtape. Fifth and last album by him released by Chambermusik. Production is credited to Falling Down, Dom Pachino, PR Terrorist (still him), DJ Chulo, Hushh Entertainment, Shawneci, Mr. Bomba, DJ CIA, and Team Napalm producer Dub Sonata. Guests are 9th Prince & Islord of Killarmy, Live Brim, Vito Pamagari, Shyheim, and Crunch Lo of Team Napalm.

38 Spesh — Time Served [mixtape]

This 38 Spesh tape holds up decently for twenty minutes, even after the arrival of Chinx and French Montana, then it collapses to coincide with the arrival of another of its mainstream guests, Gucci Mane. The next ten tracks are bad due to commercial, cheap and shoddy production, and all point to the club. In the final minutes, the tape raises its head with a couple of good tracks and the Styles P guest spot, looking at the credits the rhythms are made by DJ Premier and Pete Rock respectively: after over an hour of questionable material, you may not even notice the goodness of these two final rhythms, since the two producers don't exactly offer something memorable, in particular the beat of Pete Rock is far from his maximum potential. It comes out as one of 38 Spesh's worst tapes, not essential in his extensive discography.

Dom Pachino — Rice & Beanz

Fifth disk by Killarmy rapper Dom Pachino. A third of the album is produced by himself, along with Dub Sonata, Shawneci, Mes, Block McCloud, Larry Flynt, Lost Sun, DunnEzzy, Jewels Polaar and Golden Child. Guests are Shyheim, Block McCloud, Thirstin' Howl the 3rd, Casandre, Golden Child and Live Brim. There are a few original tracks and a third of the "1st Blood" mixtape. The title track is genuinely one of Staten Island MC's top songs to date, delivering excellently on an elegant production of Dub Sonata. Nothing comes even remotely close to the first track in the remaining minutes, there are no decent pieces, memorable lyrics, or noteworthy beats. Thug, gangsta, street bars, the usual filler for women ("Commitment") and boring bragging, on this occasion the boy aims for the recognition of record company executives, also reiterating that he's no longer affiliated with Wu-Tang ("Thugz 'R' Us") after having stated it on the previous album under the name PR Terrorist ("Don't Get It Curled"). 2/10.

Dom Pachino — 1st Blood [mixtape]

Dom Pachino aka P.R. Terrorist also renounces Team Napalm and builds its new project around new names, many at their debut. Production is provided by Jewels Polaar, Bugsy da God, Live Brim, Block McCloud, Wise, Mes, Nawledge and Shawneci. The guests are Islord of Killarmy, Block McCloud, Bugsy da God, Wise and Live Brim. The tape is quite simple and follows Dom Pachino's previous records and his street / thug style mixed with violence, invectives against fake Killa Beez and complaints for the lack of success that artists in his opinion are not deserving.

Dom Pachino — Operation Warfare

The CD was born with the intention of launching the flagship Team Napalm, a new group created by Dom PaChino ready to carve out its place in the game.

Dom Pachino aka P.R. Terrorist — Gunz an Glory

Dom Pachino's first album released under the moniker PR Terrorist. The rhythms are made by Dom Pachino, Dub Sonata, Falling Down, Nawledge and Dave Beast.

Dom Pachino — 4 Security Reasons

Second solo release by Dom Pachino through Killa Bees' main label, Chambermusik. The CD looks like a mixtape or a long EP, ten short tracks for a total of about half an hour of material. Guests are members of Team Napalm Crunch Lo and Just Da Barber, as well as Infinite, Shyheim, Golden Child and Hasstyle. Half disc is produced by Dub Sonata of Team Napalm, the rest is provided by Dom Pachino, Just Da Barber, NLZ, Falling Down and Unspoken (close to TMF). The lyrical content is typical of the rapper of Killarmy, gangster, materialistic, and bravado bars, invectives against invisible enemies and now it's his time to shine. It sounds like it's a direct follow-up to "The Arsenal", with the difference that for some reason the production is better and it makes it at least decent all the time.

Dom Pachino — The Arsenal

If you exclude what looks like a cannon in the background and the choice of white and red colors on the cover, there is no reference to the Gunners, in one of their best times at the turn of the century. Dom Pachino delivers bars on the other side of the Atlantic and his reference is linked more to the military world than to the sports one. The rapper who grew up in Stapleton is still close to his Team Napalm, which contributes decisively to the record: Crunch Lo is the main guest, along with Shyheim, Infinite, Thirstin Howl III, Nina and Just Da Barber (another member of the group), while the rhythms are entrusted almost entirely to the members of Team Napalm Dub Sonata and Chapel. Production is decent and Dom Pachino repeats a bit the same arguments as his previous CDs, aiming for an impossible commercial triumph in his first Chambermusik release.

Dom Pachino — Domination

This tape by Dom Pachino is more contained than the debut, unfortunately, it doesn't mean that it's necessarily done well. He keeps "The Puerto Rican Terrorist" as a description of him on the cover as well, and brings out a product of 13 tracks, half of which are produced by 4th Disciple. Wu-Element selection is simple and minimal, no beat impresses in any way, although you can guess when he's not behind the keyboards because the other producers, the same Dom Pachino and Chapel of the group of Dom Pachino Team Napalm, provide less-good rhythms than the already low average of the period in the East Coast.

Dom Pachino — Tera iz Him

Debut album by Domingo "Dom Pachino" Del Valle, rapper of Puerto Rican descent, native of Manhattan, raised in Stapleton, Staten Island. He meets 9th Prince, with whom he later forms Killarmy. In 2002 he made his debut as independent with his first solo album released under its Napalm Recordings.