Soul Kid Klik: Mortal Kombat (12")
(Roach Music/Soul Kid)
Alright, now my long awaited review of the debut 12" single by the Soul Kid Klik. With samples flying around sporadically like bullets and beats that are solid, this crew is definitely in this for the long run. Even though the title is played out, the song itself is pretty good, and G-Clef is a harsh MC who definitely graces the mic well with his style. At times he sounds like Killer Priest when he is pissed. Goodfella, who now has his own 12" out (send me a copy folks!), is just as smooth as he wants to be. But I'm totally into Storm, who wants to be the first rugged female MC since Roxanne Shante. Her verse is short, but impressive enough to where you want to hear more. There are a few mixes of the song on this 12", but the best is the one on the A-side. G-Clef's production is very professional sounding, definitely better than that Drastic Measures shit Cappadonna got himself into. The Soul Kid Klik were originally a part of GZA Entertainment, and The Genius was going to put this group under his belt. But now the two have left amicably, and all I have to say is that it is GZA's lost. I hope the Soul Kid Klik make it on their own terms.
John Book (U-Wu Newsletter)
REVIEWS FROM ON THA DOWNLOW....
Soul Kid Klik, Mortal Combat 12"
(Soul Kid/Roach Music)
Wu-Tang is all you hear these days, well before the GZA really got famous for Liquid Swords he owned a small label called Soul Kid Records. Now the Genius is gone, but the dopenessremains as this label now hits peeps off with more extra-ordinary hip-hop that will make all the real heads go WHAT?!?, and everyone else go DOPE!!.
This dope collaboration of emcees (Infamous, G-Clef, Storm, Blak Spik, Goodfella, and Spinbad), that rhyme over a dope track that sports an infinite number of samples from Mortal Kombat, the video game. The track is titled, appropriately, Mortal Kombat. There is also a Mad Underground remix that is just as good as the original. Peep this flow, "With the lyrics that are relevant/for the hell of it/I rip a rapper's frame because my flow is *excellent*/Yeah, with the ill tune/I'm bringin' pain soon/To the one who imitates me like he's Shang Tsung". The end of the original version takes us out with battle scratches with many different Mortal Kombat samples that have to be heard to be believed. This single is dope.
Soul Kid, is bringin more as we speak, Mortal Kombat 2 is released and will be reviewed as soon as we receive it. Watch out!!!
Soul Kid Klik: Desperate Times 12"
(Soul Kid Records)
From the depths of the underground, the Soul Kid Klik has sprung forth to bring us a new single, that quite departs from the "Mortal Kombat" singles, but yet, retains their darkened demeanor. "Desperate Times" is a slower instrumental than "Mortal Kombat", and best resembles The Artifacts' "The Ultimate" toned down, and a sax sample looped in. It is much more grittier than previous releases and that makes them feel more comfortable "I'm kicking rhymes in the world's biggest sandbox/Battling Ewoks/Descended from hard rocks/Conducting Eulogies among the devastation/Of a land formerly brand/ the hip-hop nation/Though tribal leaders sometimes see me as a rival/We communicate through rap as a means to our survival/But overall we're in co-operation/The resurrection of hip-hop's a sticky operation"...how true.
The B-side gives us a double treat. "Spark Da Mic" is a li'l quicker with a harder kick, yet simpler beat, but is still nice. Kinda allows the crew to spit rhymes of what they feel like saying. The rhymes are more of emcee battling lines. Something good to throw on a mixtape or at underground clubs.
A great gem is the inclusion of "10 Mack Commandments", with Doc Dave Banna. He gives the rules of macking in the form heard on, you guessed it, Biggie Smalls' "10 Crack Commandments". The beat is basically the same, a bit warped up. The Doc states "Been fucking these freaks for years, acting like an animal/There's rules to these chicks, I wrote myself a manual". It goes on to list 10 rules on what a fella should do in the heat of macking. It is not really misogynist, as it states that females do this in their own way too. Definitely a song to peep.
Definitely a different palate for your tastebuds, but the songs on this new single are pretty nice. Definitely a change up from the typical rap that you are hearing on the radio and T.V. today.