In 2005, a collaborative effort between emcees The Professional aka Pro the Leader and Anti the Decimator, who would later form the group American Poets 2099, was released. The boys trade verses for twenty-three minutes in these seven tracks, extended to ten with three additional bonus tracks (including an instrumental) in the reissue released by Black Stone of Mecca in 2021.
This version also features a single guest contribution from West Coast rapper Crazy Monk on a Skarekrow production. The Monstar Mob beatmaker crafts another beat for "Walkin with Bloody Shirts", where he provides a robust musical carpet to support the performers' effortless rapping: haunting loop, irregular dotted bass line, sparse drum light midtempo, solid rhythm, good execution by Anti the Decimator with a rough, irregular style, while Pro the Leader tears up the cut with a loose and regular delivery.
The rest of the album is composed of beats designed by Pro the Leader, who stays true to the sound created for his album "Pro's Laboratory 2", released in the same period, with "laboratory beats": sparse drums slow minimal, raw and perennial bass lines in the background, vibrant and tense samples almost to the point of annoyance. Over this set, The Professional drops bars with a regular style, sometimes hardcore, while the raw, rough and irregular delivery of Anti the Decimator is closer to the mood of the production and fits better.
Most of these sound carpets sound similar to each other, a rare exception is the bonus track "Monstrophic": Skarekrow creates an effective boom bap for this joint, lively, dirty, dusty and vibrant drum midtempo, robust bass line, dark loop. Good rapping by Pro, Anti and Crazy Monk. The ninth piece on the Black Stone of Mecca tape boasts a cleaner-sounding production: raw dotted bassline, crisp clean dry drums midtempo, Pro the Leader solo. The record is closed by an instrumental choice.
Originally released with his own label, it's a good effort by this duo, 6/10.
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