The Bronx-born, France-based European Amabassador for the Zulu Nation and spearheader of Ice-T’s resurrected Rhyme Syndicate now unleashes the whole album trailered recently by The Funhouse Adventure EP [which saw him trading rhymes with old skool hero Donald D]. While hiphop often gets swamped in negative press – most recently as soundtrack to underage hoodie killing spree pissups – it’s easy to forget the positive aspects which prompted its birth in the first place, when Afrika Bambaataa turned the gangs inside out and started a party which would shake the world and, for a while at least, bring peace between New York’s warring gangs. Dynamax is plugged into the source, citing Bambaataa and sound system titan Kool Herc as his ‘two dads’. Rather than extol the joys of bling or thug life, he pushes an insidious message of positivity and political agitation on tracks like ‘Stop the Death Penalty’ which sit in dense, intricately-constructed webs of sound and ultra-cool beats. ‘Streets & Rhymes’ is a simmering hotbed of night- crawling street tension while ‘Lyrical Bumrush’, which also features his French ally Dee Nasty, is rapid-fire and drenched with a lonesome Wu-style violin. Bambaataa himself pops up on ‘Acknowledgement’ while ‘We Want ‘Em Free Now’ features more of Dynamax’s old muckers with Stickman from Dead Prez rapping and Lord Jazz from Lords Of The Underground adding to the deep, unsettling atmosphere. Throughout, the production is crafted and subtle while the overall effect makes for a flagship album to lead in the celebrations marking 30 years since hiphop first burst into the world.
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5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
