A proper blast of high quality old-school hip-hop with a surprising guest feature across the entire album. Is that you Tom Hardy?
We are a bit late with the review of this one but it wouldn’t be ignored, one of the most played albums on the RIL stereo over the last two months. Czarface is a meeting of Wu-Tang Clan legend Inspectah Deck with Boston duo 7L & Esoteric. It has been a prolific partnership, producing fourteen albums in thirteen years. A lot of the albums have a featured guest star across the album. This album features “Frankie Pulitzer,” improbably, the rap name of a certain English actor by the name of Tom Hardy. Yes, that Tom Hardy. He has not discussed his appearances on the album, appearing masked in the music videos. A longtime admirer of hip-hop and the Wu-Tang Clan, he has been collaborating with Czarface since Covid. The other guest spots are high quality, pulling in Busta Rhymes, Method Man, El-P and Kendra Morris.
‘Mad Technology’ is the absolute stand-out highlight. Over a lightly menacing piano beat Method Man shows why he remains one of the greatest in the game throwing out casual genius lines like, “I don’t even take a pee without monetising the streams.” Deck and Esoteric go to work before “Frankie Pulitzer” shows he can absolutely keep pace with these legends.
You can’t not discuss what Hardy gets up to across the album. As an actor he is known for deep level immersive work and it is no different here. Hardy smells a part and he inhabits it utterly. That part is New York MC and he does it to perfection, not a hint of English accent. Yet, he shapeshifts as the album requires. Most obviously on the somewhere between fantastic and bizarre ‘Grim-Visaged War’ where Hardy spends the second half performing Richard the Third in what is pretty much his unmuffled Bane voice. The response at the end, “Do you guys know who the greatest rapper of all time is? William Shakespeare.” We are absolutely here for this madness.
This is pop-cultural crack, the references fly all over the place from Stephen King to Bruce Campbell. Comics fans are well served with Marvel and DC bars being spit all over the place. Hardy delivers one of my favourite verses on ‘Raw Forever’ managing to take in Scorsese’s Bringing Out The Dead, Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon, Spider-Man, Sgt. Rock and Doctor Doom all in one go:
“I’m bringing out the dead like a paramedic out the Cage, directed by Marty
Frank Pierce, the gang’s here, welcome to the party
I be somewhat of a scientist like Willem Dafoe
If you know then you know
Goblin up crumbs, hit ‘em with the fly, kill ‘em with the low
Profile, no smile, exile the old style
So vile, exhale the smoke cloud, blow trial
Dog day afternoon
When I talk Sgt. Rock on the block with the Glock aftershock from the boom
Rip you out your costume
Stuff you in the smallest locker, lock you in the locker room
Doctor Doom how I’m the Victor the scripture
Have you wrapped up like like a boa constrictor”
The whole album is constructed with the same level of brilliance. Old school beats, heavily focused around a light air of menace or being deeply atmospheric , inventive sampling and some great rappers delivering right towards the top of their game. It is an absolute gem and way better than any of Czarface’s recent output. One will assume Hardy will be getting other offers from the rap world on the back of this performance.
Essential Tracks: Everything, but especially ‘Mad Technology.’
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