In 2011, the Bronx rapper John "Armageddon" Eaddy, member of the hip-hop group Terror Squad leaded by Fat Joe and Big Pun, releases a rare official soloist project. Nine tracks produced by Raw Uncut, Famine, Numberz, Mike Mic, J. Dot, Nemisis, Armageddon himself, and Daddy of Global Empire. The guests are Fat Joe, Noreaga, Doo Wop, Mina and Fat Man D.
The tape is opened by "Imma Get Mine", Raw Uncut realizes a rough production, rocking guitar licks leads the rhythm, raw bass line, harsh drum, solid beat, Armageddon spits regular with a good rapping. Famine is the beatmaker of the next track, "Dance with the Devil": synths, metallic drum supported by hi-hats, roaring bass line, the Bronx rapper goes strong ever here, but the chorus doesn't work well. Numberz provides a soul piano keys loop for "Get Yours", soulful cut by Armageddon, fast hi-hats, cheap drum, sample from Roxette's "Listen to Your Heart".
The track number four is "It's Over". Mike Mic produces the tune. Scarce boom bap, cheap drum, samples from Big L, weak samples, sample from Donny Hathaway's "I Believe to My Soul" for the chorus, Armageddon spends three verses trying to convince you that he's better than everyone else, but he fails for whatever reason, mostly because the music is poor and his delivery isn't at his peak, he doesn't sound particularly inspired here. Mina sings the chorus in "Rap Therapy", cheap production by J. Dot, poor drum with hi-hats, guitar licks, eccentric piano scale loop, Armageddon can't save this bouncy and chaotic rhythm nor can Mina. Behind the keys of "No Sense" there's Nemisis: boom bap with harsh syncopated drum, distorted samples, the Bronx emcee runs regular over this cheap beat, the rhythm isn't bad, but the drums are too loud and this doesn't reward the calm, relaxed performance of the author.
With the arrival of Fat Man D, the main rapper tries to create his own reggae-sque hit: simple musical carpet provided by Armageddon, reggae hook, discreet rapping, but the track is just fine. Daddy of Global Empire is the beatmaker of the track number eight: rnb female sample, dance drum, sparse hi-hats, synth keyboards loop, Armageddon tries the redemption song here with a sample from Journey's "Send Her My Love". The tape of Armageddon is closed by a remix of "It's Over" with the same beatmaker Mike Mic and the same rhythm of the original: the remix is opened by Fat Joe, Noreaga continues with the second stanza, Armageddon drops the third verse e brings what on paper should be one of his best tracks.
Side note. Armageddon killed his track "Run Away", spitting fire with a powerful, hardcore rapping over a sample of the same name from Bon Jovi, but the song for whatever reason doesn't end up on this record or any others, maybe because the samples wasn't clarified.
Armageddon is another promising rapper whose career was stalled by the end of the Terror Squad group and he's basically disappeared from the hip-hop scene, never making any guest appearances again, aside from a few sporadic mixtape spots. This effort shows off his talent, though with a few better beats, he could have produced a noteworthy EP.
Rating: 6/10.
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