Warriorz

"All real Niggas step up. Fake niggas step the fuck back. This is not for you". Brooklyn’s hardcore hip-hop outfit Mash Out Posse make no attempt at inclusion with the intro to their Warriorz album and it’s easy to see why you’d love to hate them. But dig deeper than the loud, violent, gun-toting facade and there’s some surprisingly accessible hip-hop.

Already this year, Ante Up and Cold As Ice have been sneaking ‘Lil Fame and William Danzini into the mainstream. The former, produced by DR Period and featuring Funkmaster Flex, is an aggressive, horns-blazing anthem urging "Ante up – kidnap that fool". Cold as Ice on the other hand samples Foreigner and twists it to within an inch of its life with a deadbeat bass riff.

On Cold as Ice, as well as several other tracks, Lil Fame assumes production duties himself under the guise of Fizzy Womack. On the rest of the album it’s production by committee including stints by DJ Premier, Nottz and Mahogany from Ruff Ryders. Such switching behind the boards doesn’t unduly ruffle the flow of the music with the beats and rhymes threading the whole venture together.

Overall though, not a particularly attention-grabbing album. There’s no denying Fame and Danze’s rhyming skills as they bounce off each other on tracks such as Welcome to Brownsville. But lyrically M.O.P. are far from being special. The content rarely ventures further than their own backyard (Home Sweet Home and Brownsville) and their aggressive verbosity soon becomes monotonous. For all their masculine posturing and hardcore belligerence, M.O.P. come across as inadequate and powerless.