Killer Mike – I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind (7-8-2008)

Posted on Jul 09 in Reviewsby adminPrint

After making an initial splash with the legendary duo Outkast earlier in the decade Killer Mike was been relatively quiet outside of the release of his debut Killer. With his 2006 smash double disk set I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind Mike silenced all his critics who thought that he wasn’t worthy anymore b launching over twenty five politically, street, and hustler potent tracks of gristle tough material. With only a bit f the buzz still remaining from that project Killer Mike finally returns with the follow up I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II.

Killer Mike uses the intro to I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II to serve enough energy to fuel any true street hustler, college entrepreneur, or striving musician’s deepest ambitions. Killer Mike’s choppy lyrical delivery on the opening “10 Gs” will definitely turn some newcomers off but tested listeners will know that this is far from Mike’s respectable work. On the sensational “Can You Hear Me” Mike lets off angst fueled call for recognition as he stands up for himself and the hood.

In a clashing of lyrical integrity Killer Mike invites Shawty Lo to rock beside him on the for the most part satisfying “2 Sides.” Producer Tha Bizness laces a west coast beat as west coast legend Ice Cube shows up on the albums societal gem, “Pressure.” It comes as a surprise that Mike put my dude Messy Marv on the Willie D sampled “Big Money, Big Cars.” SL Jones shows and proves his staying power on the airy and inspiring “You See It.”

After five of six so-so joints from Killer Mike he finally steps up to his own reputation on The Cancer & Kidz With Machine Gunz produced question raising “God In The Building.” Southern major players 8Ball & MJG lend some of their rhyme wit on the stellar ode to pimp shit over the sleek tones of “Super Clean / Super Hard.” In a somewhat crossover attempt Killer Mike doesn’t lose any luster on the sappy but freaky “Woke Up This Morning.”

Though the hook neither the beat sound like shit on “Bang” Killer Mike still manages to come with some of the album’s most scathing lyrics. Louisville, KY bred producer Young Sears gives Killer Mike some heat as the GA MC helps those dumb ass guys distinguish the difference in importance of getting cash over ass on the hustler’s anthem “If I Can’t Eat Right.” Killer Mike shows he’s never one to bite his tongue as he speaks on everything from Michael Vick to the crack ridden inner city streets of Atlanta, GA on “I Gotcha.” Killer Mike closes out the album on some brash robbery shit as he tells a vivid story of dope, deceit, and death on “Good-Bye (City Of Dope).”

I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II features some very noteworthy gems but to me it’s missing a little bit too much of something from somewhere or another. Unlike the first episode in the I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind series part II has an abundance of throwaway tracks. Maybe it’s just the fact that the original double disk set came as a complete surprise and each song just seemed to get better and better as you strolled through the collection. Don’t get me wrong, Killer Mike definitely raises some noteworthy questions as he makes his way through this set. Instead of making those questions as attractive as he did on the last one he just simply focused more on the bottom line of shit which definitely doesn’t do him any justice what-so-ever.

VERDICT – 14 / 20
LYRICS: 4
PRODUCTION: 3
DELIVERY: 4
CONSISTENCY: 3