This is a fairly predictable collection of battle rhymes from Mortar, member of Clandestien, and Perth’s sprawling Syllaboliks crew. A never ending wellspring of disses, and threats of violence, with not much to redeem it is what’s on offer.
This album might just take the highly coveted prize for most war references in an album, ever. It’s the latest in what has now become a long line of Australian releases championing politically incorrect punch lines, raw production, and vague connections with militarism, murder, and masculine fantasies channelled through allusions to authority and hierarchy.
This album follows a vaguely familiar template, a few hardcore battle raps, maybe a party track, boasting about bad behaviour and drinking, illuminations on the strange ecstasy of women, such as “bitches get ya tits out”, and an inevitable bitter sweet account of how hard life is. Frankly, it’s boring. Mortar’s production is laced with String samples that sound like Wagner – appropriate given all the war rhetoric. His use of film dialogue is unimaginative; particularly in the case of cuts from The Castle, and looping up Knockin on Heaven’s Door is a fairly cheap way to achieve some kind of emotive effect. Lastly, I cannot understand a battle MC who accuses their opponent of being “wack like Richard Pryor”. If there’s a highlight it’s probably, It Is What It Is, which has a rolling bass line, and musings on the DIY process.
This will go down well with a certain demographic of aspiring battle MC’s, and staunch followers of acts like Taunts, Art of War, Lyrical Commission etc. Though it warrants no comparison to The Hospice’s infinitely superior Stormwater, and American reference points like Jedi Mind Tricks’ Violent by Design, and the angry antics of the Psychological imprint.
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