Soundbombing, Vol. 2 cover

Soundbombing, Vol. 2

Released

Soundbombing II, the Beat Junkies-hosted sequel to the ’97 Rawkus mixtape that set the stage for Mos Def and Talib Kweli’s imminent underground stardom, is as definitive a snapshot you can get of the indie-rap canon as it existed on the cusp of Y2K. It might be a solid hunch to deduce that it sold a bit extra thanks to an appearance by Eminem at the next-big-thing dawn of his career, whose young-and-hungry “Any Man” still hits because he raps like controversy’s more a side effect than a motivating force. And there’s further doses of the Black Star alumni’s continued excellence (Mos Def’s intense-to-the-point-of-joy shit-talk session “Next Universe”; Kweli flowing like he’s pulling off blindfolded brain surgery on Reflection Eternal’s “On Mission”) to capitalize on the lingering glow of their ’98 teamup. But its breadth is impressive amidst the underground claim-staking — this is an underground with enough room for R.A. the Rugged Man as gravelly dirtbag beat poet from your nightmares (“Stanley Kubrick”), Common and Sadat X coming across like resilient conscious-rap scholars-turned-teachers (“1999”), and Bahamadia’s hushed cool glimmering icily in Reflection Eternal teamup “Chaos.” And some of it’s aged so well — like Pharoahe Monch masterfully concoting the scenario of a certain unnamed NYC politico’s downfall (“Mayor”) and El-P’s furious embodiment of America’s sadistic cruelty on the fresh-for-202X “Patriotism” — that it makes Soundbombing II less a time capsule than a time-release.

Nate Patrin

Suggestions
Bo Jackson cover

Bo Jackson

Boldy James, The Alchemist
Old cover

Old

Danny Brown
Nia cover

Nia

Blackalicious
We Buy Diabetic Test Strips cover

We Buy Diabetic Test Strips

Armand Hammer, billy woods, E L U C I D
Black Star cover

Black Star

Mos Def, Talib Kweli
74: Out of Time cover

74: Out of Time

Ol' Burger Beats
Chemical Warfare cover

Chemical Warfare

The Alchemist
Wu-Tang Forever cover

Wu-Tang Forever

Wu-Tang Clan
GNX cover

GNX

Kendrick Lamar