Rowdy Lewayne Williams under the moniker of Ganksta NIP (Nation of Islam is Powerful), in 1992 debuts on the hip-hop circuit with what has all the potential to be a horrorcore classic and one of the best albums ever in hip-hop.
Lyrically, Ganksta NIP writes some of the best horrorcore and violent lyrics of the period and at the time only the Geto Boys, Esham and very few other unknowns tried his same path, most of them came from the South Park Coalition in Houston, to which Ganksta NIP himself is affiliated. Despite this, the production provided by the beatmakers present in the Rap-A-Lot paddock doesn't help the ultra-violent lyrics of the Texan rapper: the rhythms of Crazy C, Dope E, Doug King, John Bido, The Terrorists and Ganksta Nip himself are simple, cheap, decent and functional to the texts and to the flow of the performer.
Most of the tunes are musically represented by a slow boom bap, with a lean, slow and minimal syncopated drum machine: it's a quite poor and cheap soundscape for the rhymes that will go to spit NIP. Even on more cheerful or relaxed beats than usual, he doesn't give up on his ultra-violent gangsta bars, aided by some South Park Coalition affiliates and by the Geto Boys in "Action Speaks Louder Than Words". This gangsta-horrorcore album is dry, skit-free, and tops an hour-long overall length with tracks that rarely drop below four minutes: it's a good project that features tons of shocking psycho bars interspersed with some occasionally humorous lines.
The second big problem that holds this album and doesn't make it rise to the status of classic that its lyricism would make it deserve, emerges very strong: the energyless delivery of Ganksta NIP. The rapper gives no value to his lyrics, performed with a slow and monotonous style instead of the hardcore delivery that would have projected it among the legendary records of the golden age, if it weren't for the mediocre rhythms also.
Good album at the end, recommended for horrorcore fans. I think other listeners might not care: a record that has been successful locally, obtaining distribution from Priority, is one of the few ones that really deserves that shtick on the cover.
Rating: 7/10.
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