For Souls of Mischief’s latest album they take it back to the days of the past. They rented a town home on San Francisco's Montezuma Street with producer Prince Paul
Prince Paul is a star addition to this project. He has a keen ability for creating albums that sonically flow from start to finish, a trait that played a role in DeLa Soul
The Souls of Mischief have a full grasp on the skill of sharing a verse. You can tell they’ve done it for close to 20 years. On “Fourmation” the emcees go back and forth over a simple, but effective track. Meanwhile, on “Proper Aim” each emcee kicks a dope verse that lyrically complements the verse before. The album isn’t without flaws. The group constantly toes the line between brilliance and obscure. Tracks like “Poets” leave the listener yearning for a bit more from the crew. The Souls' common "I’m-better-than-you" tracks may actually be better than most recent releases, but they’re nothing revolutionary, and they fail to match up with some of their classic cuts in the Hiero catalogue.
Souls of Mischief prove that they can still put out a dope consistent effort and have fun doing it. While Hip Hop is stuck in the age of conformity, the Bay Area originators of the abstract are still pushing the limits and making music that feels good to them. The bottom line is Souls of Mischief know who they are, and who their audience is and isn’t. They aren’t trying to become a group that they aren’t and after 20 years of kicking rhymes, they still have plenty more to say. The end result comes out fresh, even if the occasional track misses the target. Montezuma’s Revenge may have been created by Prince Paul, but it’s told by Souls of Mischief and it is quite the entertaining adventure.
Prince Paul is a star addition to this project. He has a keen ability for creating albums that sonically flow from start to finish, a trait that played a role in DeLa Soul
The Souls of Mischief have a full grasp on the skill of sharing a verse. You can tell they’ve done it for close to 20 years. On “Fourmation” the emcees go back and forth over a simple, but effective track. Meanwhile, on “Proper Aim” each emcee kicks a dope verse that lyrically complements the verse before. The album isn’t without flaws. The group constantly toes the line between brilliance and obscure. Tracks like “Poets” leave the listener yearning for a bit more from the crew. The Souls' common "I’m-better-than-you" tracks may actually be better than most recent releases, but they’re nothing revolutionary, and they fail to match up with some of their classic cuts in the Hiero catalogue.
Souls of Mischief prove that they can still put out a dope consistent effort and have fun doing it. While Hip Hop is stuck in the age of conformity, the Bay Area originators of the abstract are still pushing the limits and making music that feels good to them. The bottom line is Souls of Mischief know who they are, and who their audience is and isn’t. They aren’t trying to become a group that they aren’t and after 20 years of kicking rhymes, they still have plenty more to say. The end result comes out fresh, even if the occasional track misses the target. Montezuma’s Revenge may have been created by Prince Paul, but it’s told by Souls of Mischief and it is quite the entertaining adventure.
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