In the last days of 2019, Kinetic 9 aka Beretta 9 of Killarmy gives a Christmas gift and releases the sequel to his first mixtape via Black Stone of Mecca. There are 20 tracks for 66 minutes of hip-hop, it's a Wu party with several exponents of the best groups linked to the original Shaolin group: RZA of Wu-Tang Clan, Shogun of Killarmy, Hell Razah & Killah Priest of Sunz of Man, Buddha Monk of Brooklyn Zu, Black Knights, CCF Division, Suga Bang Bang, plus Midaz, Co-Defendants, Ya Ya, 8th Wundah, Evil and Science of Life.
The album opens surprisingly well (this "surprisingly" is justified if you've listened to Killarmy's discography or even just RZA's). The introductory beat is good, in addition there's a switch in the middle: you're on a double track, one of the many that the rapper decides to put in the mixtape. The other beat is still good. The drum falls midtempo, dirty, dusty, deadly, brilliant. No drum has been so neatly dirty, so brilliantly muddy, on any Killarmy member's album in the past 20 years. It's something that until a few years ago, was heard starting only from the keyboards of Alchemist, Daringer and even before from those albums that followed "Marcberg" and little else. With a little attention you could grasp that influence, even Kinetic's rapping style is unusually good, clean, calm, smoother than his previous releases, plus it's supported by a melodic soul sample, also quite rare in his discography. Then let the rhythm breathe, and it's actually a good rhythm, there's a whole professionalism behind these first three minutes that's kind of scary and disturbing.
The following track isn't that good. There's Midaz, the drum is heavier this time, the rhythm isn't accessible, technically I have nothing to say, even though Kinetic 9's rap doesn't seem as effortless as previously and here he strives to keep up with a drum that is overly tight and pressing. In "Take Swords" there's RZA and the rhythm returns to midtempo, with dark sounds: Steelz is forced to place his signature kung-fu samples here that echo those sharp swords that once ruled New Jack City. If this is a Bobby Digital beat that's a problem, because it's great: the drum is Wu, the loop borders on perfection, the guy has never been the best MC of the supergroup and here he's slow, rough, heavy, but the track goes on anyway, Kinetic completes the cut. Track number four is "93rd Universe", it's a distant universe from the Wu one. This choice seems to be distant from the rest of the mixtape: the rhythm is discreet, it sounds dance, it gives dance vibes, with a quick drum and a hardcore rap, it doesn't sound essential.
"Yo / The Sword Of Power" is one of the first big surprises of the project: it's the beat of Jay-Z's "Can I Live" (from Hova's debut CD, "Reasonable Doubt") created by Irv Gotti, the song is performed by the singer Ya Ya. The other half of the song has a commendable uptempo beat with smooth sax samples and good Kinetic rap. The last seconds arrive from another classic. Sixth pick boasts RZA on the mic, production is affordable, rapping is decent. Shogun participates in "Raining", there's a good choice of the sample, but this is chopped and looped in an annoying way and ruins the track. The next two songs have choices that can be trivially described as unhappy behind keyboards, with generic rappers. Shogun returns in "Art of War" and at this point, unlike the first volume, it becomes increasingly necessary to understand who created these rhythms: dry and skinny drum midtempo, dark samples, elegant piano, Wu vibes, hardcore rap back n forth by the two Killarmy MCs on a dirty and laudable underground boom bap. This is one of the best tracks of both.
"Dear Summer" is just that song, again from Jay-Z, Kinetic freestyle over this beat from the Memphis Bleek album. Switch in the middle for another song, with experimental rhythm. Piece number twelve is another double track. Rich and dark rhythm, good rap of Kinetic and Shogun, followed by a short instrumental before the track with RZA, decent on a cheap minimal production. "Down At The Rotisserie" is one of the less successful songs, the production is irregular, messy and confused, not accessible. "What Gangstaz Do" boasts Hell Razah & Killah Priest on a dark boom bap rhythm, the guys deliver hardcore. The next one is "Up", boom bap, good bass, midtempo drum, melodic soul sample, positive vibes, calm and regular delivery of the performers, there are the Black Knights along with Beretta 9. "Grown Folk Music" featuring Midaz has laid-back vibes. This is followed by an interesting double solo joint by Kinetic on a couple of interesting dynamic sound carpets.
"Heaven & Hell" is on that classic train that this tape has been following from the beginning: the first seconds are taken directly from Syl Johnson's "Could I Be Falling In Love", here accelerated by one tone, the sample of "Heaven & Hell" by Raekwon & Ghostface. Kinetic delivers at his finest on a beautiful production, together with Suga Bang Bang. The following song is "Haters Catch the Vapors" performed by Shacronz and FreeMurda, members of the CCF Division and both sons of Popa Wu, who contributed to the first albums of Lex Diamonds and Tony Starks, now considered among the two best LPs released in the nineties. This track doesn't have the epic of a Wu song. On the official bandcamp of Kinetic, this last two tracks ("Heaven & Hell" and "Haters Catch the Vapors") are inverted. Finally, the disc is closed by "The Links": boom bap, sample chipmunk soul chopped and looped, this time in an accessible way, hardcore delivery of Brooklyn Zu rapper Buddha Monk, regular rap of the French duo Co-Defendants, already guests in the first volume under the name Co-Deez.
It's not the most regular tape that the Killarmy discography offers you, in any case, it's certainly a quality release. It has its moments and they're good moments. In 2020, a limited edition of the project in vinyl also comes out, in which Kinetic 9 takes the grease off: the project is reduced by six tracks and twenty minutes, for a total of 14 tracks and about three quarters of an hour of listening. All the songs with Midaz, "93rd Universe", "Heaven & Hell" and "Down At The Rotisserie" are eliminated, practically the only ones that clashed with the rest of the album. What remains is the essential: with this Black Stone of Mecca vinyl, the rapper releases one of his finest tapes, if not the best.
Rating: 6.5/10 (2020 version: 7/10).
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