The dense, layered vibe of "Stanley Kubrick", the smart lead single from the new Angry Blackmen album, hits like a bomb. There are flashes here of past legends -- the claustrophobic flow of Smoke DZA, the heaviness of Mobb Deep -- but this is futuristic stuff, with an awareness of how messed up things are (certainly for Black people in this country) that sets this apart from so much of what I hear elsewhere these days. The Legend of ABM, out now via Deathbomb Arc, is a burst of needed fire, but don't call this conscious rap.
Quentin Branch and Brian Warren tell their own tale on the title track, name-checking Gangstarr in the lyrics making sense there as there are some similarities. Far better is "GRIND" which is both something to shake your ass to, and something that's going to make you think. The two trade verses at just the right clip, with the beats clanging behind them like Tony Stark hitting that armor in the cave with a hammer. Elsewhere, the all-too-brief "Sabotage" sounds like Atari Teenage Riot are playing in the room as Quentin and Brian spit fire. "Suicidal Tendancies", with a Merzbow-y backing grind, is another highlight here. The words dropping out when they need to, but hitting on all cylinders when heard elsewhere.
There's a neat trade-off between Quentin Branch and Brian Warren on this Angry Blackmen record. And while it seems as if Quentin is the more direct and Brian the more emotional, there's power when Warren raps: "Kids with no guidance nowadays get they vape on / lemme be your hero / I can serve you with no cape on" in "FUCKOFF". The words take me back to KRS-ONE and those who brought the words of the streets to the public, without losing their sense of uplifting those hearing the message. This isn't throwback stuff, but Angry Blackmen have impressively found a way to offer up a sonic storm with a bit of knowledge seasoning that fury. The brief new album from the duo is certainly one of the most exciting records you're going to hear this season. Dig it.
The Legend of ABM by Angry Blackmen is out now via Deathbomb Arc.
[Photo: Joseph Torres]