Artist: Spit Gemz
Album: Welcome To Hellzgate
Source: Soundcity
Tracklisting:
01 Broken Oath Ft. Spent D’nero & Shaz Illyork (Prod. By JL Adio)
02 Possession Of Mind Ft. Shaz Illyork & Meyhem Lauren (Prod. By Aye Wun)
03 Passport
04 Red Pilot Ft. Sol Invictus (Prod. By Derek Day)
05 Stolen Legacy Ft. Carmen Indhira (Prod. By Detek)
06 Trained Assassins Ft. Starvin B, Carmen Indhira, Shaz Illyork & Eff Yoo (Prod. By One Take)
07 Megatron Mindstate Ft. Shaz Illyork (Prod. By DJ Brans)
08 Highlight Real (Prod. By Junior Makhno)
09 Fearless Pt. 7 Ft. Shaz Illyork & Carmen Indhira (Prod. By DJ Guttertrash)
10 Sinister Grin Ft. Shaz Illyork, Starker & J.Love (Prod. By Drasar Monumental)
11 Wasted Years (Prod. By Detek)
12 Panic In The Hall Ft Shaz Illyork, Thirstin Howl The 3rd & Homeboy Sandman (Prod. By Junior Makhno)
13 Concealed Weaponry Ft. Aye Wun (Prod. By Dolo)
14 Man At Arms (Prod. By The Strange Neighbor)
15 One And Wake Up Ft. Shaz Illyork (Prod. By DJ Low Cut)
16. Plotting
17 Love & Loyalty Ft. Carmen Indhira (Prod. By Jack Diggs)
18 Serpents Ft. G.S. Advance (Prod. By G.S. Advance)
19 Fly Creature Ft. Carmen Indhira, Starvin B & Shaz Illyork (Prod. By Golden Child)
20 Welcome To Hellzgate (Prod. By DJ Guttertrash)
21 SKILLUMINATI Ft. Thirstin Howl The 3rd & Meyhem Lauren (Prod. By Hook & Eye)
Note:
I am going to start this review out with the following statement: Welcome To Hellzgate is most certainly a Top 5 mixtape/street album from 2012. For my part, the only thing that comes close to the standard set by this project is Red Eye’s St. Fatrick’s Day. There are so many bangers on this joint, I simply can’t count them all on both hands. This is something that you can knock whether you are on your way home from work or heading to the spot to get rowdy. You will definitely get amped when you listen to this album!
This album is chocked full of goodness. It is twenty tracks deep and I can listen to this project without skipping a track. I of course have my favorites. In my mind the first eight tracks are beat by beat, verse by verse better than any initial tracks you have heard on an album or mixtape this year. Ok, you can minus out the short skit, but damn, these songs incomparable.
Broken Oath, Possession Of Mind, Trained Assassins, Stolen Legacy, Megatron Mindstate, and HighLight Reel all personify the raw sound and dope lyricism, not only of Spit Gemz, but The Opposition as a whole. So that’s where I will start.
Stolen Legacy is a dope song all around. Detek puts together a very simple, yet well orchestrated production. The guitar riff is subtle but when coupled with Carmen Indhira’s vocals, it becomes eerie and haunting. Spit Gemz, meanwhile just bullies the english language into submission. He berates this beat with lines like:
…I’m an issue, you’re a passing conversation if that / Small talk, wouldn’t capture a gossiper’s ears / Engulfed by the ravenous crowd’s proposterous cheers
Now we’ve talked about Megatron Mindstate previously on this site and this is certainly one of the strongest cuts to surface out of NY in the last two or three years. The beat by DJ Brans and The Opposition’s flawless verses are sure to make a fan of even the most skeptical hip hop head. The two reference Virgil, nine circles of hell, seven virtues, the pale horse, and The Anarchist Cookbook. They combine ruggedness and intelligence into a street anthem. Ya’ll ain’t ready for this!
By the time HighLight Reel comes on, as a listener, you already have your adrenaline pumping but Junior Makhno isn’t going to let you take a break. It brings some high energy to the boards and crafts yet another banger. This is a track that should licensed to the UFC or ESPN. It’s music that automatically makes you want to get out of your seat and do something. Follow these bars:
Not me I ain’t the type / See I can really fight / And my knuckles bear the bruises, you can hear that when I write / Slight pivot to the right / Hold my pace and I deliver / You would think that I trained with the Gracies and the Silvas / Clinch game great, I play the basement with pillars / I’m warning ya! / Keep working, cuz you ain’t strong enough / To trade with me,to gauge my range when I corner ya / Kimora, rear naked choke, lets put the hands away / Crack vertebrate / Axe Murderer Wanderlei…
When I listen to Welcome To Hellzgate I am really reminded of another artist that I came to love when growing up: Ras Kass. Ras Kass had the knack of incorporating knowledge without going over people’s heads. Spit Gemz has that unique ability. He takes his street savviness and lets it take on a whole other dimension when he blends in his intellect. There so few emcees that have and can use both elements as an emcee. When this guy blows, don’t ever say I was one who doubted. Cop this album (for free) and become a believer too.
Hip Hop Dependency 