Cannibal Ox made a strong debut in underground hip-hop on Def Jux, with the backing of El-P’s trademark production on their Cold Vein LP. Now, they’re released a new 12-inch with some exclusive tracks. The A-side kicks off with the original version of “The F Word”, an abstract love song with deep lyrics and innovative production. Vast Aire takes the perfect beat and spells out his problems with a relationship. It seems like in the beginning, him and a girl are together, but she gets caught in a love triangle and the relationship deteriorates, and in the end they’re no longer together. Also, let’s not forget Vordul on the well-done chorus. The Remix is produced by RJD2, a cat who’s getting a lot of well-deserved props for his work with not only Cannibal Ox, but for other artists like Copywrite. The beat to the remixed version has a more traditional hip-hop sound, but the original vibe isn’t lost. “Life’s Ill” is the type of song we’ve all been waiting for.
Finally, Vast Aire takes a long-awaited shot at Will High. He says, “…Fuck Will High/ Your life’s in front of a mudslide now, you slip, you die/ You put your fingers on my man when he wasn’t looking/ Now I got ten fingers and a cigar cutter/ Let’s see, in a five-day week, I’ll mail out two fingers a day to your mother.” The production isn’t as complex as the A- side, but it’s decent nonetheless. The lyricism is definitely the most important aspect of the song. You’ll find a sick beat on “Metal Gear”, until the organs in the chorus, at least. The organs would have been a great accessory had they not tried to rhyme over it. Vordul makes a rather goofy appearance on this track, with a somewhat silly delivery, but some creative lyricism.
Reviewed By RhymeLife.Com for HipHopHotSpot.Com
