Niggaz of Destruction

While it's not the greatest rap album I've heard, it's still pretty good. The only downside is that it gets more and more mid as the album progresses. The first few songs, particularly 1 and 2, are really good, but we see a dip in quality as we get to side B, which culminates in B3, Fugitives, which is too fucking long (9 minutes, really?), making it, by the time it ends, the most forgettable track on here.

The production is really good. It has to be said, even though it was said a thousand times, that the lo-fi vibe of the Memphis rap subgenre gives the music the edge and really gives you a glimpse into what kind of surrounding these guys were living, hustling, and thriving musically. Rapping isn't on any new level. Mostly quick rhyme schemes with horror elements, crime, and death references.

It may be stupid to say, but the album feels really intimate. Listening gives you the feeling that this cassette was recorded out of pure love and given to you by a friend whose basement was used as the studio (which is probably true to someone), rather than listening to it on streaming services thousand of miles away from Memphis, which I am doing now.

Overall, even with its flaws, it's still a really good album and an adequate introduction album to the grit of Memphis rap. Give it a shot.