I’m not one to count out old school rappers attempts to make comebacks or reinvent themselves in an effort to find a second wind in their career. But when I heard that some of the members of La Coka Nostra were originally known as House Of Pain I was as interested in listening to them as Lauren London would’ve been interested in unprotected sex with Lil Wayne had he NOT been the hottest rapper in the game (Nivea’s prego like the sauce too, but she dated Wayne way before he was a rock star). I mean last time I heard Everlast he took a break from making cowboy music to diss Eminem. Then you got his hype man and DJ. But then Ill Bill from Non Phixon was tied into the group, and he’s type ill. So I decided to P. Diddy this mixtape and just press play.
The mood was set off with a dope freestyle from Slaine over Nas’ “Made You Look” track. After that it was basically a lot of dope beats, psychotic rhymes and surprising guest features. From Snoop’s chorus on “Bang Bang” (I wonder if he paid Kam to write that too), Bun B on “Choose Your Side” and Raekwon on “Coke Moshiach,” I caught myself boppin and moving to this project more than a third of the time. Everyone went in on this album in their own way. Ill Bill is a beast with the rhymes. Slaine’s flow is so nuts that it’ll eventually end up in Paris Hilton’s mouth. “Mistaken Identity” was straight swine flu shit.
And listening to that Hollywood Hulk Hogan looking sonofabitch on “Can’t Live Like This,” I realized that Everlast is probably gritter with the rhymes and lyrics than Eminem is right now saying, “Lost in a bottle of course I’m the bottom of the barrel/no apparel except for being a loser and an asshole/dressed in drugs, arrogant/they keep me happy/the same thing that’s killin’ me is the same thing that traps me/transports me, sometimes it transforms me/so I feel like I’m getting’ a blowjob in a porn scene/sometimes I feel like I’m a millionaire with no worries/a lazy fuck stuck on the couch in no hurry/no ambitions, no plans or future/got two bitches pregnant at the same time when it’s due in a month/the other in a week, they don’t even know about each other/and I don’t even love either of them!” Sounds like Lil Wayne and Everlast should get together and go bowling.
Though I haven’t paid attention to House of Pain since “Jump Around” and I haven’t touched any coke since I steamed on a Wooly Blunt with my homie Rog a decade ago, La Coka Nostra brand of hip-hop is something that could have its fan base strung out on. Thought sometimes what they say may sound like Hells Angels type living, it was still spit damn well. Each member brings a different sound and style to the table, but at the end of the day they mesh together pretty well. They’re like a white version of Slaughterhouse just not nearly as relevant. But I’m not taking anything away from the quality of their music. They made some of the rawest hip-hop music that I’ve heard in the past year, and the next time they drop a new project I still won’t be as interested as Lauren London was in having unprotected sex with Lil Wayne while being the hottest rapper in the game, but I’ll be interested. Have a good weekend y’all. Stay up and stay strapped both ways…-The Infamous O
Hottest Joint: “Can’t Live Like This”
Weakest Joint: “Nature Of The Beast”
This entry was posted
on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 11:36 am and is filed under Main Review, Reviews
Share it:
.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
DIRECTORIES
Pastor Troy Talks Past Beef With Master P & Lil Jon on Channel Live [With Video]- 11 hrs ago
Win Tickets to Cypress Hill Concert in Philly- 11 hrs ago
WATCH NOW: Young Money’s Lil Twist Live Ustream Freestyle for XXL’s ‘Rhyme Time’- 12 hrs ago
XXL & Rémy Martin Present Three 6 Mafia Concert in L.A.- 12 hrs ago
Alchemist & Oh No Prep Collabo LP for October Release- 20 hrs ago
XXL & Rémy Martin Present Free Twista & Clipse Concert in Chicago- 21 hrs ago
Download Freddie Gibbs’s ‘Str8 Killa No Filla’ Mixtape Now- 23 hrs ago
WATCH NOW: Pastor Troy Gives Live Interview on XXLMag.com- 1 day
July 10th, 2009
at 11:41 am
Pierzy says:
What it is, O?
I saw this but wasn’t sure what to make of it. You think it’s worth a few spins??
Reply
July 11th, 2009
at 3:18 pm
EReal says:
Don’t sleep P. Forreal.
Reply
July 10th, 2009
at 11:53 am
Avenger XL says:
O there is no way these House of pain meets cypress hill and NONphixon b-teamers have that solid of an effot. I heard a few of these songs and like that horrible R kells mixtape you gave a good review too, I was thoroughly disappointed. Now if you are into the death metal hip-hop styles of vinnie paz and Jedi mind tricks then you may feel La Coca Nostra. But there is only so much conspiracy theory and Tony Montana dreams that are in the least bit entertaining.
Reply
July 10th, 2009
at 12:29 pm
O says:
I went in with LOW expectations when I threw this on. So I was type impressed with what I heard. No, they weren’t as good as Cypress or Non Phixion, i NEVER said that. But they held their own. And yes, I do like some of Jedi Mind Tricks material. And yeah P, it’s worth at least one spin….
Reply
July 10th, 2009
at 2:14 pm
Avenger XL says:
I will say this. I would love a sticker or a T-shirt of the album cover without the whole LA Coca Nostra theme(i.e. just the little skeleton with the burner). I am sick of references to the mafia and the cocaine cowboys. I won’t even get started on scarface.
Reply
July 10th, 2009
at 3:16 pm
O says:
I’m Latino, and even I’M tired of Scarface references. So I feels you on that…
(Comments wont nest below this level)
July 11th, 2009
at 3:19 pm
EReal says:
The coke reference is made to the msuic, it isn’t a drug dealing reference.
Reply here
July 10th, 2009
at 1:31 pm
vhingrhamesonyo'momma says:
they need Necro to round the group out, dude be buggin on wax.
Reply
July 11th, 2009
at 5:19 pm
hate says:
good review o. i downloaded this shit and went into it with the same expectations as you. and i can honestly say that while it’s not overly impressive,it’s definitely some shit you can play all the way thru. co-sign that everlast verse too. shit was crazy. i ain’t expect it from him
Reply
July 11th, 2009
at 7:45 pm
O says:
Word up, dunn. Especially after all them Cowboy songs he made. I didn’t think he had a verse like that in him.
Reply
July 13th, 2009
at 8:03 pm
tru predator says:
man this shit is garbage.i seriously cant believe you have the audacity to say neverlast is comin nicer than eminem is as of late.you obviously havent given some of the best songs on relapse a good listen.em murdered this dude on quitter and the hit em up cover back when he dissed him.im surprised he’s still tryin to make music.he did alternative music because he sucked as an mc,he had to find a new audience,and it worked for a minute.until he tried to come after eminem,career suicide.the only legacy he had was the few good songs he made on the first house of pain album.everlast give it up dude drop the mic and join icp along with vanilla ice,theyll love you over there.their fans are just as stupid as their music
Reply
July 14th, 2009
at 11:36 am
O says:
I NEVER said “nicer.” I said grittier. There Is a difference…
Reply
July 14th, 2009
at 5:58 pm
twoholla says:
yeah…thus far I woulda have to say that I agree with every comment on here (positive & negative!)….nowhere as good as Ill Bill’s last solo LP but more listenable & engaging than Slaine’s “the white man is the devil volume 1 & 2″_yeah slaine is dope in his own right but he just hasn’t really broken away from the pack of vinnie paz-y, everlast-y, angry white dude rappers…and oh Mr. O…in your mixtape review you wrote “GRITTER” not “GRITTIER”…GOTTA STEP UP YOUR REVIEW GAME UP BECAUSE THIS SITE TENDS TO ATTRACT DICKS LIKE MYSELF WHO WON’T HESITATE TO HARP ON IT…BUT STILL A GOOD REVIEW THOUGH…
Reply
July 15th, 2009
at 7:50 pm
Live4rm52o says:
first of all, thats ill bill spittin’ that verse you claimed everlast did, yes everlast surprised me on this as well as the album… but before you review something make sure you know who spitting… and la coka nostra is the most refreshing thing in the game right now… fuck anyone hating… ill bill & slaine>>>your favorite rapper
Reply
July 16th, 2009
at 2:01 am
TheDefChef says:
Anyone who cant see that these cats are bringin that real shit back are wearing their asses for hats. And the dumbass who is so surprised that Everlast/MrWhite can spit them sick verses…ya sleepin fool!! Ya ass is like this ZZzzZzZZzZZz
Fuckin lame…gotta be that guy huh?
That fuckin ” Mr Im a Critic”
Defending Em?
WHACK!!!!!
Kill Ya Self ….make tomorrow the best day of your friends and families lives.
LA COKA NOSTRA….THE ILLEST !!!!
BOW DOWN!!
Reply
August 6th, 2009
at 8:23 pm
tdizzle says:
you sick if you think everlast is to be mentioned with eminem lets be serious thats hating to a new level…ill bill is sick thats why he rolls with tech nine on alot of shit. but everlast isnt touching eminem, go back and listen to stay wide awake, or deja vu.
Reply
August 9th, 2009
at 2:07 pm
The Southern Comfort says:
I was quite looking forward to this as they’d been hyped for a while, it was pretty good, a little uneven in quality and too even in topic but bumpable. i got the album though and that’s pretty dope, better beats and more musical. slaine and ill bill and the guests come hard.
as to everlast, i’m a stan, and whilst he’s not the emcee eminem is he is a real musician and is coming hard on this la coka stuff - even i hadn’t thought he had this stuff in him. and to balance out the eminem fans, “whitey’s revenge” is about as hard as em’s been hit, not a ko for sure but he felt that one.
Reply