Ill Bill - The Hour Of Reprisal

In the midst of all our American hub bub about the presidential election, natural disasters and so called "controversial" content in Hip-Hop and the music business in general, emerges a hip-hop masterpiece that will truly illustrate to the faint of heart just what "offensive" really is and can be. This "masterpiece" album I speak of comes from Ill Bill; one of my longtime favorite emcees from Brooklyn and it's name is "The Hour Of Reprisal". Over the past 4 months tons of different versions of this album have leaked, but now we will finally have the true article.

Ill Bill proves his status as an elite emcee on this project and delivers consistently throughout in the form of thought provoking rhymes that are spiked with raw realizations and scathing depictions of his early life. I'll be the first to admit that he often gets going and might lapse in and out of his flow and that he sometimes has a tendency to let his strong delivery turn into flat out yelling, but lyrically, Bill has always brought it on his solo albums and this might be the best one he's ever made. Showcasing his strong production skills on here as well, Bill will force many a hip-hop head to re-examine their best album of 2008 list's and work "The Hour Of Reprisal" into the top five.

Bill opts to incorporate some of the underground and independent scene's most talented emcee's and utilize his own production a lot more for this record. "The Hour Of Reprisal" is top notch across the boards, really insightful, powerful and un-afraid. Everything that I hoped Nas's new LP would be, Ill Bill's is. You'll find names like Immortal Technique, Raekwon, Vinnie Paz and B-Real all gracing this solid piece of work. The standout track on here to me is "White Nigger". While at first glance at the title I expected the song to be a cheesy, over blown, Jewish homage to black stereotypes, I was pleasantly surprised when Bill took us into his life story and broke down how he got into hip-hop, what it was like growing up Jewish in the Glenwood Projects in Brooklyn, NY and how he fought the labels that were thrown on him. Shit is a damn good record and the production (provided by Bill himself) for it was insane as well. Bill gets the pass to say the word because he put it forth in a really thoughtful way and wasn't trying to negatively attack anyone else. He'll catch some flack for it, no doubt, but I understand what he was trying to do. Good for you Bill, don't listen to the haters. Another huge highlight of the album is when Ill Bill teams up with the legendary DJ Premier for the track "Society Is Brainwashed", which finds Bill trading in his usual delivery for his 95' flow which is more streaming, fluid and technically precise. It is an eye opening glimpse into how talented Bill really is when it comes to pulling out old weapons and updating them for modern times. This whole album is full of contemptuous rhetoric, but this joint has Bill reciting his anti-American truths in such vintage fashion it makes you wanna go find all his early work really. The finishing touch is most certainly the Premier production though. Primo hands Bill a perfectly crafted boom bap gem, that supposedly Jay-Z in all his pop music greatness turned away. SMH, big surprise there right? At any rate, one man's trash is another man's classic joint. Bill has to release "Society Is Brainwashed" as a 12" single, it gets my vote as the album's most re-playable record.

All in all if your a fan of any type of hip-hop that means something you need to check out this record. Ill Bill's commitment to that hardcore and in your face brand of rap/hip-hop has finally paid off in the form of a stellar album. I loved most of this effort and I rarely feel that way about any project, especially projects that are droppin in the 08'. I didn't think that anything would drop this year that could fuck with Immortal Technique's mixtape "The 3rd World", but I was wrong. This album lives up to it's hype and was well worth the wait. Aside from a few very small mis-steps in the song theme department, this shit is flawless.

-BIG D O




01. Babylon (Feat. Howard Jones) (Prod. By T-Ray) 05:14
02. Doomsday Was Written In An Alien Bible (Prod. By Ill Bill) 03:03
03. Trust Nobody (Prod. By Ill Bill) 02:48
04. A Bullet Never Lies (Feat. Vinnie Paz) (Prod. By DJ Lethal) 03:25
05. White Nigger (Prod. By Ill Bill) 04:01
06. My Uncle (Prod. By Ill Bill & Sicknature) 02:45
07. Riva (Feat. Hr & Darryl Jennifer) (Prod. By Ill Bill) 03:51
08. War Is My Destiny (Feat. Max Cavalera & Immortal Technique) 03:11
(Prod. By Ill Bill)
09. Society Is Brainwashed (Prod. By DJ Premier) 03:44
10. This Is Who I Am (Prod. By DJ Muggs) 03:20
11. Too Young (Feat. Hero & Slaine) (Prod. By Darp Malone) 04:32
12. Pain Gang (Feat. B-Real & Everlast) (Prod. By Cynic) 03:55
13. U.B.S. (Unauthorized Biography Of Slayer) (Prod. By Necro) 02:29
14. Coka Moschiach (Feat. Raekwon The Chef) (Prod. By Ill Bill) 02:31
15. The Most Dangerous Weapon Alive (Prod. By Necro) 02:21
16. Soap 00:49
17. I’m A Goon (Prod. By Ill Bill & Sicknature) 03:24
18. Only Time Will Tell (Feat. Tech N9ne & Everlast) 04:37
(Prod. By DJ Muggs

http://rapidshare.com/files/144507326/Ill_Bill-The_Hour_Of_Reprisal-2008-C4.rar