With 2 albums already under his belt, Lawrence, Massachusetts native, Krumb Snatcha destroys and rebuilds as he comes through with his latest scriptures, appropriately titled, “Respect All, Fear None“. The D&D Records dweller, under the Gang Starr foundation, takes to his trademark style of spittin’ stories of his gritty and grimy life experiences with the heart of a lion and the strength of a nation.
Delivered production from a slew of notable, underground headz (Easy Moe Bee, DJ Premier, Alchemist, Da Beatminerz and the soon to be noticed, Curt Cazal) allows Krumb Snatcha to keep it to the streets with the intensity of his past “Snatcha Season” efforts. Snatcha, the 28 year old rhyme-sayer/rhyme-slayer had to drop from the scene for a while, and was dropped from his Interscope deal, to fulfill a debt with the law and do a bid in the penal, but still continued to write and create inspiration for past underground classics/sleepers (“Closer To God”) and future ones to follow as he drops a rapid-fire barrage of real-life, in-your-grill lyricism that he has come to master over the years. While most would think that Krumb Snatcha might be just your average, everyday typical MC, but the kid has paid his dues to God and the streets…”Respect All, Fear None” is his testament.
The album starts out as most of the current-era releases with an “Intro” – a Krumb-Snatched tirade of what’s real in his heart and in this game. Various tracks then serve to further illustrate his view points and representations of various street-level rules, rhymes and reasons, with cuts like “What’s Life”, produced by the Marley Marl-mentored, Easy Moe Bee and “Streets Is Calling” by the ex-Cypress Hill disciple/beatmaker, Alchemist. Of course, the Gang Starr foundation represents on a Primo-laced track titled, “Incredible”, where Guru trades flows with Krumb Snatcha while Premier attacks the wax (and the industry wacks) in classic Gang Starr form. As for other production collaborations, the D&D dwelling Beatminerz come through on the album with 2 tracks. “Strike Back (Closer To God II)” reveals that old beat ingredients sometimes bring out the best of whatever you’re cooking while they later bless Snatcha on the devastatingly HOT track, “Rich Man Poor Man”, where Snatcha lyrically assassinates over an orchestrated, string-filled beat. Craig G and BCC’s, Buckshot features on the futuristic, matrix-style voyage over a Curt Cazal produced track on “Nobody Move”. Although the combination of talent on this track between the Black Moon front-man, the Juice Crew All-Star and Snatcha reminds one of a modern day Treacherous Three, newcomer producer Curt Cazal doesn’t exhibit the same intensity on the boards as he has done on past production or the needed old-school tempo that lacks in today’s rap music. Cazal, however, does come through for Krumb Snatcha on a vividly portrayed and masterfully lyrical-laden track called, “Prison Life” where Snatcha paints a portrait of daily life, through his experiences, in the prison system. There are further guest appearances from the likes of Boogieman, Demone Warren, Buckshot, Craig G, Jayshaun from the Kreators and the vocals of Mexicana, but Krumb Snatcha still shines over all on what seems to be his most confident release yet.
Snatcha has progressively grown lyrically, mentally and spiritually, and he proves that his skills aren’t going anywhere and can compete with the best of them. The album does fall short in certain areas however – a few production efforts are decidedly bland and the lack of further DJ Premier produced tracks doesn’t really solidify his status as a Gang Starr affiliate. Hopefully, in the future, Premier can take time out from his other initiatives to take care of Krumb Snatcha as he has in the past with past affiliates like Group Home, M.O.P., Jeru The Damaja and Afu Ra. All in all, the tracks that are hot, overshadowing anything that might be lacking to a rap-trained ear and should open more doors for the Boston-area native to rise higher and shine even brighter.
Reviewed By P The Uptownkid for HipHopHotSpot.Com
