Vakill has been around for years–since 1995, to be exact–as part of Chicago’s Molemen 
collective. I’ve alwasy thought of him as Chicago’s answer to Raekwon–he tells gritty street stories, with an old school flow and new jack lyrics. He’s capable of words that have more than two syllables, and has a decent vocab, too, which has always made him one of the more interesting long-standing emcees out there. Yet, most of his albums haven’t held together too well. That all seems to have changed this year.
“Armor of God,” Vakill’s new release, is hard-hitting and strong, with production/guest shots by Panik (also of the Molemen), Jake One, Vizion, Rhymefest, Nino Bless, Crooked I, and others.
After the first third, we find “Heavy,” a slow-but-extremely-heavy cut with digital sounds overlaying the standard 808, in which Vakill seems to be wrestling with his own age: “Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” is the theme, talking about how he’s outgrown life on the streets and how even musically the rap game has changed (he even calls out 808 Heartbreak). “Who got next, where are they found? I can let it breathe or air you out,” he says to his successors, a warning that Vakill’s time isn’t over yet.
This is easily Vakill’s best album in years–possibly ever.
On Moleman Records.
Stream some cuts and/or DL “Beast” below.
http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Fplaylists%2F883716&show_comments=true&auto_play=false&show_playcount=true&show_artwork=true&color=ff7700 Vakill by Molemen
