Da Lenchmob Need Ressurection

It’s hard to imagine that Da Lenchmob’s Guerillas in tha Mist would get a tolerant response in a post-9/11 universe. It called for an unforgiving black revolution, a para-military approach to getting what their community deserves from unjust white America, it was hard on the ears for a lil’ Caucasian in the burbs who was becoming indoctrinated with Spike Lee movies and the autobiography of Malcolm X. Post-L.A. riots, this type of fiery rhetoric was completely justified though, their songs took Ice Cube’s Amerikkka’s Most Wanted a step further, saying things the Cube might have thought was crossing the line (even back then).

Shorty, T-Bone, Maulkie, and Jay-Dee were led into the jungle by Cube himself, who was credited as executive producer and makes a handful of cameos re-iterating a handful of his famous one-liners (“Went to the house and dusted off the A-K” or “I went home sawed the barrel off my shotgun”). Wonder if these guys were ever card-carrying NRA members? Or if they still have an arsenal at will, just in case the revolution starts back up again. If you’re a fan of the Cube solo stuff, the Bomb Squad’s dissonant sample attacks, or the proto-g-funk slither, then you’re in for a treat with this dark, cathartic, mix of noise and West Coast socio-politicking. While it’s not equipped with the seamless flow or storytelling concepts that made Amerikka’s Most Wanted and Death Certificate instant classics in the hip-hop genre (there are a number of duds within), the title track, “Buck tha Devil,” and “Freedom Got an A-K” all are worthy of mix-tape inclusions. Just be prepared to open the discussion on whether their points were valid then and valid now. Yes and Yes (though most won’t admit to the latter answer).

Much like the effect Paris’ Sleeping with the Enemy, which featured a fictional assassination of Bush Sr., would have in today’s world, Da Lenchmob’s thoroughly engaging and edgy narratives would probably raise a few more eyebrows now than it did back then.