Army of the Pharaohs - The Torture Papers



Tracklist:

1. Battle Cry - (featuring Apathy/King Syze/Crypt The Warchild/Des Devious/Esoteric/Chief Kamachi/Plane
2. Gorillas - (featuring Crypt The Warchild/Esoteric/Apathy/Planetary)
3. Henry The 8th - (featuring Vinnie Paz/Chief Kamachi/Reef The Lost Cauze/Planetary)
4. Pull The Pins Out - (featuring Celph Titled/Esoteric)
5. Tear It Down - (featuring Reef The Lost Cauze/Planetary/Vinnie Paz)
6. Into The Arms Of Angels - (featuring Faze One/Crypt The Warchild/Vinnie Paz)
7. Torture Papers, The - (featuring Celph Titled/Planetary/Apathy)
8. Listen Up - (featuring Celph Titled/Esoteric/Crypt The Warchild)
9. All Spall Perish - (featuring Chief Kamachi/King Syze/Vinnie Paz)
10. Wrath Of Gods - (featuring Apathy/Esoteric/Planetary/Des Devious)
11. Narrow Grave - (featuring Chief Kamachi/King Syze/Planetary)
12. Feast Of The Wolves - (featuring Vinnie Paz/Apathy/Celph Titled)
13. King Among Kings - (featuring Chief Kamachi/Vinnie Paz/Esoteric/Celph Titled)




Review:

Conceived by Jedi Mind Tricks frontman Vinnie Paz as a rap supergroup with a membership rivaling the Justice League, Army of the Pharaohs is a name that describes them perfectly yet fucking hard to spell correctly. It's no surprise that even on the album and the JMT website they frequently abbreviate it to AOTP, a convention I'm more than happy to adopt for this review. If you're not into Egyptology and/or haven't studied ancient history, just take it as a given that pharaoh means "supreme ruler." Looking at the rappers featured on this album, it's readily apparent this is a cream of the crop crew of MC's who rule the underground scene - Apathy, Celph Titled, Chief Kamachi, Esoteric and Vinnie Paz himself among many others.

If you're going to do a supergroup album it's best to come correct with super beats, otherwise no matter how great the lineup is everyone's going to feel like it was a fucking waste of time. Thankfully even though the cast of producers is as varied as the roster of MC's the contributions still shine like gems. DC the MIDI Alien combines together smooth strings, piano keys, bass and a harmonious female voice crooning "la-la-la-la" and STILL makes it pound like a ten ton bomb on "Gorillas." The title is self-explanatory on the Loptimist laced "Tear it Down," but the M.O.P. samples including Fame screaming "Stepped through the door, tore the shit off the hinges" from "Rawness" give it that much more punch. The production can also be sublimely subtle though, such as 7L's understated "Listen Up" and The White Shadow's "Narrow Grave." For the most part the "Army" in AOTP's name is apt though, because it's full-scale war on mediocre hip-hop, illustrated perfectly by the epic Shuko produced "Battle Cry" opener.

Apathy: "I put you up on the I.V., not the Roman numeral 4
But the I.V. that leads to the funeral floor
Wax gets melted; breaks bones, fractures pelvics
Speeds through space and cracks blast astronaut helmets
Face it, motherfucker I can pay to get rid of you
I've got more heads in the hood than pagan rituals
A new tyrannical force for you to fear
Known to kill and keep human ears as souvenirs
A shape shifter face slitter, paper getter
Tape your sister, rape your sister
Make your sister take it in the face
And if you're facin us, block off a 30 block radius
I throw more blows than boxin Dr. Octavius"

Read the rest of the review here