If you weren’t listening when I told you that “The Audacity of Coke” was the 5th best mixtape of the year so far, then shame on you. (Follow this link, and hopefully the link to the tape is still live.) But even if you were listening, that was only half the story.
La Coka Nostra is another rap collective/super group, formed by Danny Boy (of House of Pain). Coka are pretty D.I.Y., mostly posting their shit on Myspace, but that’s been enough to get them hyped and hot. This summer marks the release of their first album, “A Brand You Can Trust.” And it’s fucking great. Every member spits fire. Everlast is the leader on “Cousin Of Death,” and Whitey Ford sounds better here than he has in probably a decade. DJ Lethal (House of Pain/Limp Bizkit) produces some typically hot beats, and MCs Ill Bill (of Non Phixion) and Slaine (of Special Teamz) all more than pull their weight. Also appearing are Snoop Dogg, UGK’s Bun B., Cypress Hill’s B Real and Sen Dog, and several others.
If you dig Jedi Mind Tricks, Cypress Hill, UGK, Sean Price, Tek and Steele, and all that kind of grimy street hardcore, you shouldn’t miss this. This, along with the mixtape, is proof positive that Nas was full of shit. Hip Hop is alive and on fire.
