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Reprising their old roles as one of the west coast’s trail blazing underground groups we find the Souls Of Mischief (off shoots of the Hieroglyphics crew) getting back up with each other for Montezuma’s Revenge, their first album in nearly a decade, since they dropped Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution.
The four man, Oakland-based group is still composed of A-Plus, Opio, Phesto, and Tajai and while they haven’t exactly broken the mold of being harder to find subterranean MC’s, they haven’t lost a step with their chemistry either. All of the music contained in the menacingly titled Montezuma’s Revenge, (which is actually a nod to the street name in where they recorded this album) is for the most part cohesive and gracefully relevant for the times without being watered down to modern standards. These brutha’s spent 9 years doin’ whatever, but still have managed to link back up in the twilight of the 2K’s to create an interesting look for their always loyal fan base.
Literally, the “look” of the album is entrancing. The cover artwork is done by the brilliant canvas painter Steven Lopez and his vividly bright colors and vision absolutely deserve mention in this review. If you mess with Erykah Badu you should recognize his great work. I fully credit the Souls for seeking out his talent and having the stones to let him create the cover for a very important LP in their discography. After all, returning to a scene that you’ve been absent from for several years successively can make you jumpy, Maybe even force your hand on some musical stylings. Fortunately for all of us the Souls have never followed anyone but themselves and if you were worried about them jumping on some new fad here, rest assured no such thing would happen.
Recruiting Prince Paul to handle the bulk of the production definitely was a good promo move (reeled my 90′s Hip-Hop lovin’ ass right in), but I don’t know that it was what actually produced the best tracks on the LP. Paul, is of course Hip-Hop royalty and deservedly so. His towering achievements and heavily applauded works helped form the landscape for so many and I, as just a humble reviewer am in no position to question his moves, but with all due respect I must say, he did venture off into some somewhat flaccid territory at times. No one’s perfect, not even a legend, so I let compositions that were stripped down and quasi boring like “Aim Proper” slide…
Although in-house Hiero beat man Domino brought his fair share of moments that will be remembered as the album’s headiest offerings (the hazed, rumbling bassline and scratch filled “Tour Stories”) Paul did manage to add the controlled chaos in spots that kept you on ya’ toes. Despite some of his brumal tracks infringing, cuts like “Poets” was one time when Mr. Huston’s vibrant visions did work, splashing together a somber vocal sample with a raucous main arrangement. We can’t forget the actual group member’s production contributions either though. Almost all of them double as producers, and Opio’s delectable strings and upbeat hats power “Postal”, one of the album’s many relatable and down to earth looks at the explosive dynamics between two love birds. Also worth mention would be A-Plus’s moody and borderline eerie “You Got It”. Truthfully every beat after the Intro and “Won!” just plays second-fiddle, but that’s not necessarily because they were bad per say, it’s just that the first two tracks are really good.
If not for some creative story telling rhymes and above average presences on the mic, I fear I would’ve easily rated this album as being a lil’ mundane, but the Souls were too hungry this time out. Their energy was excellent and they ran a clinic on how you command lyrics and own your delivery. These guys are veterans at their craft and it’s highly noticeable.
As a group I’d have to grade Souls very highly here. Everyone was on-point for this outing and a bad verse was pretty hard to come by. Like most projects Prince Paul has a hand in constructing, the album rides through competently and eventually absorbs you. While I was disappointed that the crew waited til’ the final track, “LaLaLa”, to fully flex their give and take capabilities, I wasn’t overwhelmed with dismay, and really, maybe taking us out that way was them saying just wait til’ the next go round’, which I can deal with. All in all the group avoided making a product that would garner any wry puns about the other “Montezuma’s Revenge” that you catch when you drink too much Mexican tap water and successfully returned their names to the list of prominent underground groups to be reckoned with.
Montezuma’s Revenge is a first rate effort, an experimental sound bed and a strong return all in one.
-Dominick “BIG D O” Ledezma
