CRASH SILVERBACK AND MAX MUTHAPHUKIN’ STAX“Candy & Coombs” (Hand’Solo)

I just discovered the Rock the Bells radio station on Sirius in my car, so it’s been pretty exciting getting reacquainted with all the classic hip hop I haven’t listened to in a long time. I’m serious, slipping back into that has been exhilarating, like I should’ve paid more attention to it the first time around. I’m not a true hip hop connoisseur, but man, when it’s on, it’s ON. And it’s pretty rare we get handed hip hop tapes to write about here for Cassette Gods, let alone decent ones. So this confluence of events seems to be hitting at just the right time…

…that I pulled the Crash Silverback and Max Muthaphukin’ Stax tape from the pile. I love nerd rap, guys, let’s just get that out in the open. You start dropping sci-fi references in your verses, you got me hooked. So these two guys, one who’s got the voice of said silverback, the other who has the voice of the squirrely alien hitching a ride in the gorilla’s brainpan, probably shouldn’t be flowing as smoothly and as super entertainingly as they do. But they do, consistently, and the production is gritty and the samples are on point. Oh my god, I was just thinking about 3rd Bass and Crash Silverback drops a “Gas Face” reference on “Wolfgang.” That’s the sign, ladies and gentlemen – the sign from on high to buy this tape.

Hand’Solo Records

--Ryan