Hip-Hop has now entered its Crack age. Twenty years after the crack epidemic entered America's inner-cities, after-the-fact lyrical hustlers push shrink-wrapped and barcoded audiodope through the airwaves to millions of fan-addicts who seek the next Hip-Hop hit. Prostitutes walk the strip, mic in hand, whispering sweet nothings to excited heads, in hope of pulling the last dollar from their hands. Beats are made in assembly line fashion, with downloaded computer software, by those eager to satisfy record exec's insatiable appetite for commercial hits.
It seems Hip-Hop has taken a turn for the worse, and maybe its final downfall. But there is a resistance. A small community of diehard heads who carry the torch for the giants of yesteryear. Producers who still use mpc's over mp3's and dig crates for the most obscure samples in order to create masterpieces through sonic alchemy. Lyricists, who still scribble inside the margins of marble notebooks and sharpen their pens to master all styles, from rocking a party to creating a thought-provoking record able to inspire the most downtrodden of man. At the forefront of this burgeoning rap renaissance are two rhyme warriors, forming a unit to launch the first stone at the corporate Goliath. Their name: The Longshots. The stone: Their debut LP entitled Hunger Music.
The disturbing album cover leaves no one on the fence, but intrigues all to crack the case open and sample the true-school revival at hand. Production on this disc is handled by underground luminaries Ayatollah (Mos Def, Cormega, Styles P) and Funky DL, present time all stars Southpaw (Immortal Technique, Akir) and the Beat Bandits (Krs-One, Dead Prez, AZ) and future household name C-Sharp, and although the sonic task is shared, the album is cohesive and flows seamlessly from song to song.
Technically innovative. Lyrically advanced. Sonically Hardcore. "Hunger Music" is Hip-Hop at its finest. An amalgam of emotion and intellect, energy and pain, all cooking in a pot of pounding basslines and soulful samples of east coast funk. This album is a must-hear and will surely be mentioned down the road as a new-school classic.
The Longshots are Rock Shabazz and Crayon from the notorious Jamaica section of Queens, NY, home to scores of Hip-Hop kings from Run-Dmc, to A Tribe Called Quest, LL Cool J to Onyx, the Lost Boyz to G-Unit. They are next in a long line of street-oriented hip-hoppers from the Q-boro to make a bid for the record books with memorable music.
DO NOT PASS UP ON THIS ALBUM. All true heads need this one in their collection as this LP will surely become the first of many classics in their catalogue. For more info check them out at www.thelongshotsonline.com
Check out the artist's website:
http://thelongshotsonline.comTrack List:
1. By The McDonald's on Jamaica Ave
2. Hunger Music
3. If You With Me
4. Life We Livin'
5. Audio Riot
6. Frozen Tearz
7. Hands Up
8. Sneak Attack
9. Girl Next Door
10. Reality
11. Running Back 2 You
12. Game of Love
13. Ready for War pt.II
14. Pallbearers
15. First Brick
16. It's All Over
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