C-Rayz Walz - 1975: Return of the Beast

Treading the line that MCs like Mf Grimm and Jedi Mind Tricks' Vinnie Paz helped make sturdy, C-rayz Walz blends braggadocio with social consciousness and violence, using dark and ominous Rza-inspired guitar-heavy beats to emphasize and reinforce the intensity of his rhymes. On his third full-length, 1975: Return Of The Beast, written and recorded shortly after his brother's death, these themes weigh heavily and dictate the pace and direction of the album. As a lyricist, Walz is skilled and literate, able to move from the love and hate of the Addrisi Brothers-sampled "Addiction" to the angry boasting of "Lifetime" or "Classic" to the importance of hip-hop in "Drug in My Vein." Guest MCs, few of whom are credited (or identify themselves), are scattered across the album, and provide a nice contrast to Walz's nasally voice and steady delivery, and the beats, supplied by a few little-known producers, are generally simple but engaging and appropriate. Read More