Heltah Skeltah - Nocturnal

There’s a decent amount of people who forget about Duck Down Records or just straight up haven’t heard of the name.  But that label has put out some of the tightest hip hop since they first began in its infancy. Heltah Skeltah not only had one of the strangest names in hip hop, but they released some of the oddest hip hop as well.  The group is made up of Rock and Ruck from Brooklyn, friends of Black Moon, Smif N Wessun, and OGC.  This is their debut album as solo artists; with production credit scattered, including Buckshot doing some songs, Lord fucking Jamar from Brand Nubian, The Beatminerz, and E-Swift from the Alkaholics.  If you’re into classic hip hop, you want this in your earholes.  The beats are chilled out, with twinkly harps and soulful piano flutters.  Yet, it is darker than that lets on.  The bars are doom-ridden, heralding Heltah Skeltah as the Two MC’s of the Apocalypse, with lots of emphasis on slamming people into the ground.  Although they put it in much meaner words during their songs.  Still, I wouldn’t say it is an album that takes itself as serious as some harder hip hop sometimes does.  The attitude doesn’t go up its own ass and start whistling.  Rock and Ruck rap as a super villain vigilante might, threatening but still aware of the outlandishness of the situation.  Think The Warriors.  New York really seems like Hell the way artists perceive it.