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Verbally vicious. Tele-kinetically gifted. Yes, Canibus is back after a most disappointing debut offering from the former mix tape assassin, and he's pissed. Pissed at critics who said he was done after the lackluster "Can-I-Bus" and apparently pissed at any fake, flossy emcee picking up a mic device in his vicinity. "2000 B.C." can't get infected with the sophomore jinx because Wyclef did us the disservice of jinxing any hopes of his debut shining like the rare jewel it was mined to be. With this new opportunity to redeem himself Bis proves he's still the hungry cat that made us cover our mouths, looking at our box wide-eyed like we couldn't believe what just came out of that mix tape being filtered through the speakers. The album explodes out of the gates at a good running pace with a cut and paste barrage of your favorite Canibus phrases, before turning into a full sprint on "The C-Quel". You immediately feel like you're listening to the mad man you always knew as he tears apart a bass-heavy beat. After being allowed a few seconds of breathing room courtesy of some well-looped opera singing, you can feel the momentum build before the amped up track "2000 B.C." kicks in and Bis scorches the drum pattern with wailing voices under it. "Life Liquid" is the third track that pairs him with rookie emcee Journalist, who also appears on "Die Slow" and despite a couple of good lines can't run track with the host. On this Ju-Ju (Beatnuts) produced joint it becomes apparent that Canibus has abandoned any messages or topics he was attempting to convey on his first album, by steaming a verse of violent chrome-squeezing bravado. The same goes for "Watch Who U Beef Wit", which is also far more bloody than the stop-the-violence track "What's Going On" and topics like the exploration of his own conception on "Can-I-Bus". The mic god Rakim appears for a rare collaboration on "I'll Buss'em U Punish'em" which features a corny and annoying beat courtesy of Clue and Duro, and was much hotter when it had the beat it was originally released with. Clue should definitely stick to making his voice echo over his friends' early releases. 'Bis outshines Rakim Allah with a blazing first verse that is also edited from its original version. "Micnificent" was a joint that most underground heads had heard prior to album release, but it adds a quality center to an already filling disc. "Phuk U" is definitely noteworthy for its profanity-sampled second verse, and of course there's "Horsementality" which combines the super group which features 'Bis with Kurupt, Rass Kass, & Killah Priest. The verses are pretty tight and I like the unorthodox format, but the beat's unworthy of those emcees and a preemptive acapella verse by Pharoah Monch called "Horsemen" makes you wish he would take Killah Priest's place as the 4 Horsemen's other East Coast representative. "100 Bars" ties up the disc with a perfect track for 'Bis to display his brash wordsmithing by riding it for the complete hundred bars nonstop and dishing out a savage tongue-lashing. "Chaos" is the last track and the disc could have definitely done with out it except for the acapella intro where 'Bis proclaims, "I'm like Einstein a hundred and fifty times magnified". The track is produced by Chaos from Heat Music, the same production genius from "Horsementality", that borrowed his little sister's Casio keyboard to make track fifteen by far the most forgettable. "2000 B.C." is fire and it brings to the table what a listener should expect of a Canibus album: rapid-fire lyrics glazed with a bit of knowledge, chest-thumping choruses, and of course a couple beats that leave something to be desired. Besides, it's worth the purchase just to hear him say "Strong enough to body slam two oxes and drop a mule/urinatin' rocket fuel/freestylin' over gospel tunes". |
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