Chief Kamachi - Cult Status
Yup another review from the wog you all love.
After over 14 guest appearances since 1998, Chief Kamachi finally dropped his first album in 2004... Without further ado:
Track 1 - 1st Lecture - 8.5/10
This starts out with an intro that kinda sums up the album... then a sick, uplifting beat with horns kicks in. Dope shit definately. Kamachi goes crazy here on this beat, with some self glorifying lyrics... The lyrics aren't the best ever, but his presence is awesome. When you hear this, you know he isn't fucking around.
Track 2 - Show Me Proof - 8/10
A decent, but rather uncreative, choral beat kicks in an Kamachi begans tearing hearts out with a sick flow. More of the same here, but with doper lyrics, and a catchy as fuck chorus.
I'm too electrical, when I'm shinin
Let my aura fuck wit your retinal
Track 3 - The Edge - 8.5/10
A nice, upbeat type beat with a cool sample sets it off. Chief Kamachi drops some personal lyrics about his life when he was younger, and talks about why he is who he is today. The chorus is pretty nice.
Track 4 - This Man - 9/10
The album gets a bit mellower here, with a slow, funky type beat with some nice keys and a smooth vocal sample. Chief Kamachi drops some knowledge about people, church, the hood, evil in the world, and the love he has for music. Kamachi talks through the chorus.
Track 5 - The Best ft. Guru - 10/10
This track is godly. The beat is slow, but evil sounding... perfect for some battle shit. Kamachi and Guru both self glorify and express their feelings with music and wack rappers today.
Kamachi:
I'm out there like I blew up on the Apollo ship
I don't listen to Earth radio, or follow hits
Guru:
Time to take ours back from the culture stealers
Cos we'll never see power unless we let our culture heal us
Guru outshines Kamachi here, but both perform spectaculary. The chorus is scratched, and a godly scratching session is at the end of the song - serious dopeness. My favourite track on the album.
Track 6 - Queen - 9.5/10
This beat is definately some relaxing shit, slow and soulful and a dope sample. Kamachi talks about a woman he loves, although alot of stuff he says can be related to hip-hop as well, so it might be a metaphor for the rap game. Overall dope lyrically, and the chorus makes you feel good. It's just a bit too short :(
Track 7 - Time Out - N/A
A interlude of sorts. Nothing special.
Track 8 - Liberated Wax - 7.5/10
The beat is okay, nothing special, kinda repetetive. Chief Kamachi self glorifies his skills and persona throughout the track, talking about how he's proud to be dope and independent. Nothing truly special. The chorus is decent.
Track 9 - Peddlin' Music ft. Charon Don - 8/10
The beat is some high pitched sample, Kanye West type shit. The lyrics are all about music, how they perceive it, with some self glorification in there. Charon Don outshines Kamachi here with a dope verse.
Charon Don:
We the truth, selected to lead the youth
So what you do to the weed, we do to the booth
Track 10 - Hatin' On My Halo - 6.5/10
The beat here is kinda unoriginal, some synth shit that gets you hyped. The drums are upbeat, and the horns are very dope. The best part here is the chorus, which is catchy and has the horns in it. The verse is just Chief Kamachi saying how great he is, nothing really special. The skit at the end is hilarious though, making fun out of nerd rappers. Classic shit. Fuck nerd rap.
Track 11 - What You Doin' ft. State Store & Mr. Eon - 8/10
This is the "big collab" of the album. Every album has at least one :) The chorus is pretty nice, and the beat is some guitar, rock type shit. It's dope as fuck, one of the best on the CD. Chief Kamachi disses wack rappers with no remorse. State Store drops a similar style verse, nothing too special. Mr. Eon drops some nice lyrics, but I hate his flow and delivery, he bores me. The real star here is the beat.
Track 12 - #13 ft. Reef The Lost Cauze - 8.5/10
The beat is great here, nice keys and strings, with a sick synth in the chorus - which is pretty good. More self glorifying from Kamachi here, his flow is especially smooth here though. Reef drops a better verse here, being more original.
Reef The Lost Cauze:
My words spook like voodoo priestesses
I don't give a damn who you be with, I'll smash you into pieces
Track 13 - Still Searchin' - 10/10
Here we get a slow sad beat, with a choral type sample. Kamachi drops some very personal shit, talking about his faith in God, his mother's death, his doubts about the church and how music was his outlet for expression. The chorus is especially emotional. This is a great track, and a great way to end the album.
They say the meat shall inherit the earth
But ain't no goods in my my hood, and I stroll past a boarded up church
And you expect me to believe the Lord is at work
Pay ties nigga, I ain't gotta die for that jerk
A hungry man don't eat off no Biblical exerpts
And he don't pray, he just hope that his vest works
_____
Overall this is a pretty dope album. It gets off to a great start, but after the interlude (Track 7) it starts slumping, as track after track is self glorification, and the album quickly becomes tiresome - luckily, the guests begin to appear more frequently around this point to keep the tracks fresh, but you can't help but think the songs could have been ever better. The album ends on a great note, with the 2nd best song being the last one.
Overall Score = 8.5/10
Enjoy :)
