Bound for Honor explodes with its first track, “Only An Intro,” produced by Raydar Ellis, with Mic Daily’s rapid, hard delivery. It’s a hype track, designed to get your heads and fists nodding and bumping. It’s followed immediately by another, almost identical tune. Mic’s partner, Big John, has a similarly powerful style, making the duo a little difficult to distinguish. So, why am I reviewing it? Because despite some repetitiveness, Bound By Honor’s debut has a lot going for it. “Spanish Fly” does something that’s almost impossible for most rappers—it goes bilingual naturally, with flow and ease and without using Spanglish as a novelty. It’s good the way Cypress Hill used to be good. It also brings Chino XL to the table, and he’s always worth the price of admission. And when Mic Daily changes it up and slows it down, like on “Buried Alive,” he shows great talent and verbal ability.
Finally, there are quite a few great one liners (“I murk kids like SIDS,” e.g.), that make this album worth adding to your collection. These are two solo undergrounders with their own followings, and it’s cool to hear them show up and bring their pals, like Esoteric, Rugged Intellect, and Loptimist.
Character Assassination Bound By Honor with Chino XL
