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REVIEW:
Overall Rating:
 
Lyrics:
Beats:
Written By:
Dark 7 Invader
Ever since hearing “Niggaz
know” and “World Domination” off Darkim’s Live At The Lab:
Take 1, It was evident that he was way beyond the average MC
and comfortably sitting at the top of the lyrical mic chain
depending on how or where you see it from. He has gone on to
murder every track he has appeared or featured on since his
return from hiatus. Darkim is deftly polarizing: middle
ground melts away with the mention of his name, those who
know him get hyped or excited about any new songs thrown at them and those
who don’t know him are baffled to what the hype is all
about, that’s of course until they give an ear and realise
they have been sleep walking on one of the finest that ever
stroked the mic.
Fame Labs presents God In The Ghetto (G.I.T.G) sets off
where Live At The Lab Take 2 was expected to be, a number of
songs initially completed for Take 2 actually appear here,
an interesting aspect of G.I.T.G is Darkim's willingness to
explore uncharted thematic territory while managing to
balance it with the core subjects die hard fans have come to
expect. The album kicks off with “You” which has been
spinning online for a minute , You is definitely a 5/5 effort,
it catches Darkim reminiscing about close peers who are
locked up or dead, tales of street hustle and beefs, the
good times, drama around the block etc summing it up on the
chorus "To all my niggaz that’s now known as the late, My
niggaz thats are property of the state, when you come home
its all great, The rest of my niggaz that cant escape, cos
most of these niggaz is all fake” Over a soulful
emotional track provided by Planet Mars, very few Mc’s would
be able to turn this soft beat into a hard and reflective
song without making it into a love song, and Darkim executes
this track beautifully with his protege 36Zero completing and enhancing
the song on the hook with a non chalant attitude.
G.I.T.G. serves as an official introduction of Fame Lab’s
rising star 36Zero or 360, who might come across initially as Robin
to Darkim’s Batman’s comparison but don't be fooled by that
comparison as 36Zero holds his ground on every song he is
featured on, unfortunately a particular song where 36Zero
showcases his lyrical prowess as never seen before did not make it to the album “Gods, Guns and One”, his introduction
on G.I.T.G. is justified alongside heavy weights such as
Darkim and Allahwise. Speaking of Allahwise, one wonders
what’s up with the long awaited A.I.G collabo the fans have complained about
after hearing the sampler of G.I.T.G., Fam lab’s aficionados
would be pleased to see Allahwise on another 5/5 joint off
G.I.T.G. call “Big Apple” which sees Wise going hard to an adrenalin,
horn influenced beat by Darkim, a tribute to the Big Apple
that would make KRS-One and Big Pun (R.I.P) smile with lines
like “Nigga you know whats up, its most famous, Still slang
talking, street jake walking, still on the block, leaning on
a mail box, stash money in the sock, money laundry pay the
copse, so they wont raid the spot, every season is hot, we
put season in the pot” B-boy hip-hop as Wise paints a vivid
picture about The Bronx with a commanding voice, smooth
delivery that captures the listeners imagination.
Chemistry between Darkim and Wise is best displayed on Fame
Stadium as both artists go back and forth complimenting each
other’s styles and voice only seen with the likes of EPMD or
M.O.P. Production on “Big Apple” is also evident that Darkim
has elevated his production skills even though unlike his
previous releases he has allowed a number of outside or non
Fame Labs producers to contribute. The production on the album
has a cohesiveness about it as the same number of producers
were used which is not common in today’s hip-hop trends,
however fans would miss Shakim’s absence from this project.
Other notable songs on the album are “Change”, God In The
Ghetto”, and “The Right Price”. What deprives this album from a
straight classic would be fillers such as “Que Paso” as
36Zero struggles unsuccesfully to flirt with the skirt with this Latin
influenced song, die hard fans would hit the forward button
by the time they get to the bridge, the same for “Maxxed
out” which sounded lazy and uninspiring as exhibited on other
songs on the album.
God in the Ghetto is a rock-solid album; jam packed with
relevant and stimulating subject matters, consistent
production, abundance of verses that display lyrical
superiority one has got to expect from Fame Labs, great
delivery and execution of tracks with clever hooks and
innovative wordplay.
If this is a taste of what’s to come, then strap on your
seat belts for an unapologetic and constant hip-hop ride
filled with quality music that is visibly missed in today’s
industry. Having had the opportunity to hear snippets and
full songs of features such as the Bronze Nazareth produced
joint of Shaka Amazulu The 7th (United Kingdom) featuring
Darkim Be Allah and Allahwise still tentatively called “Lady
Whirlwind” the game is bound to change, and you can blame it
all on Darkim, over to France where Darkim smashes “Killa
Season” with Co-Deez (Enza and Taxi), then to the
neighboring Canada as Darkim once again steals the limelight on the
White Lotus’s song called “Street Rings”, and list goes on all over the
world, it is palpable that Christ is “Still The King” and he
is dragging Fame Labs with him to rule the world.
Overall - 4 out of 5.
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