Your Head With Oil... Lots of Oil

Just a brief post to let you guys know: the NYOIL album is out and it's good, so go get it. 8)





Ok, I won't be that brief. It's called Hood Treason (The Warm Up Album), and it's 21 tracks deep, though that includes about 50% skits (mostly soundbites from radio interviews). Oh, and if you didn't know, NYOIL is the new rap identity of The UMC's own Kool Kim. ...I trust I'm not blowing his cover or anything here by revealing that (he has been "outed" on the 'net before already, and he does have his real name in the liner notes, after all). While I admit I didn't realize it was him when I saw the original "Y'all Should All Get Lynched" video, when you hear the full album and see his new video (which he's actually in), it's hard not to recognize him.

Anyway, this is really pretty solid and engaging. NYOIL's focus on "message" songs as being essentially what he's all about works for the most part - I think hip-hop fans are hungry for songs that actually have something to say - but by the end of the album things start to wear a little thin and feel a bit preachy. The production isn't all handled by DJ Slice (who produced the original, "Y'all Should All Get Lynched") like you might've expected... it's by various indie/unknown producers from all over. And for the most part, it's fresh and provides what I think the album was shooting for. The less said about the title cut, though, the better.

Hood Treason is definitely a step up on pretty much all fronts from his last indie full-length outing, The Haz Been (which still had its enjoyable moments, though, for us fans). This album is of course more serious, and as the album cover suggests, angry... but the Fly Guy is too smart/ mature to not let his wit and the lighter side of his message shine through, too. Songs like "Shout It In the Streets" and "Unreal" stand out especially, and he really flexes his skills on the drum track-free "A Quick 16:"

"Ounce after ounce
'Till the pound is bounced
And I'ma work that block and pound it out
And though my ears ring out with resounding doubt
I was down and out and now I'm 'bout it 'bout
'Bout to shout it out
I got that! Copped that
And if thecops cop then I'ma cop a plea
And if the plea don't set me free then I'll plead
On my hands and knees and beg God please to stop that!
You see these pigs change wolves to rats
And while these dogs chase cats,
These cats forget where they gangsters at
See, I was gonna drop a quick sixteen on 'em
And though I was wishin' to do a little snitchin'
My sixteen wasn't convincin'
Plus the DA had a bad day with a mind for convictin'
Y'all only wanted to sell a bit and celebrate
When I was celibate behind bars and gates
Tryin' to monkey around in the yard with weights
People had heard I'd turn states
I'd better drop a quick sixteen on 'em
B-b-but my verses was worthless
Nouns versus verbs is nervous
I mean I'm talkin' things, persons and places
To Action Jacksons and Scarfaces
Who spit straight razors and turn box springs into erasers
They fixed to drop sixtreen on 'em
And before they let go
I tried to scream for the C.O.
'C.O.!'
But the C.O.?
He ain't see, so
Well,
I bet you know how the rest go
And that's my sixteen."

NYOIL has his own site at nyoilmc.com that's definitely worth checking out, and, yes, he has a myspace as well. And The UMC's have a collective myspace, too, with some new songs on there. Good times. :)