Montezuma's Revenge

Montezuma's Revenge is the fifth studio album by Souls Of Mischief, the Oakland, CA hip-hop quartet and splinter group of the mighty Hieroglyphics Crew. Now the first-ever vinyl reissue of this 18-track font of Aztec hip-hop ambrosia is upon us. Notably, the album's striking cover featured a fifth member of the group: the legendarily innovative producer Prince Paul, who executive produced the LP, handling most of the beats and overseeing the musical direction of the album from start to finish. Paul accompanies MCs A-Plus, Opio, Phesto and Tajai as they take turns over multisyllabic flows, witty similes and smooth lyrics, deploying a dry, arid and untreated boom-bap sound; these punishing phonics do timeless justice to a certain mid-90s Cali rap sound, embalming its beats in a rigid, desiccating wrap.