Ok, as terrible as that first sentence was, its true to an extent. Everyone who listened to their music found some similarities. Before their quick breakup 8th Platoon was the formation of a number of fairly known rappers in the attempt to combine their fan bases. Without really giving the whole thing a chance, the group broke up with the exception of rapper Contribution X and producer Habitual. They stuck around to make the group debut EP, A Matter of Darkness. Together, they form another rapper/DJ duo that no one listened to.
Contrasting the other members of the original group, Contribution X had already established himself as a respectable solo artist and was bringing the most to the table by joining. Habitual on the other hand was unknown to almost every one, not that X had that big of a following but his name carried a bit of weight. The thing I know him most for is his indecisiveness towards his own name in the sense that he is just as well known under the moniker Medic. I heard the name habitual yelled out a few times during the album so I'm assuming that's how he wants to be addresses.
I have no cool story about this EP, nor did ever rise to fame after its release. Its honestly just something interesting I found online and a chance to see how far I can go into the weird part of hip hop. It also gives me more time to digest Born Sinner, which I may or may not review before its release date. Until then, you can enjoy the first and possibly only release from 8th Platoon...
1. 8th Platoon Grow (Feat. Christ Apostle)
Oddly, the song takes about ten seconds before any music starts. The instrumental is incredibly average and the hook isn't anything jaw dropping either. Thankfully, Christ Apostle took it upon himself to outshine Comtribution X and rip the shit out of this track. The result is actually a really good song, but shows me nothing about the group hosting the album. Maybe I should be listening to a Christ Apostle album instead.
2. Bloody Tarantulas (Feat. Bomshot & Rasul Allah)
The name of the track is a little disturbing but we get a much better performance from both members of 8th Platoon. While a cant describe it in words, its in your best knowledge to know that Contribution X has one of the best voices in the rap game. Both guest appearences provide verses that are good enough to be used on Habituals killer instrumental. Everything sounds great but the drums are the highlight if the beat.
3. Wars Of Calamity
Although this track only last for two and a half minutes, its enough time for Contribution X to effectively introduce himself on the mic by himself for the first time. The this I could really take away from this performance is how unorthodox his flow is, which I mean in a good way this time. Lyrics aren't anything great but the beat coats the song perfectly.
4. Battle Shogun (Feat. Portarock)
Starting with the title, 8th Platoon fully embraces every wu tang comparison anyone has ever made. Lyrically, Contribution X rhymes about chopping people up with swords and shit which has wu all over it. Most notably though is the shocking instrumental. It sounds like it came straight out of RZAs lab filled with unused beats. I guess you can say they bit the wu style a bit but it still sounds fucking awesome.
5. Big Guns (Feat. Bomshot)
The beginning sucks, in a “we'll just shout a bunch if muthafuckers out because we have nothing better to do" type of way. If that's your thing, then here's you're song. If not, just wait a few seconds and you'll be treated to a fantastic song. Bomshots feature isn't great but it certainly got the job done. Unfortunately this song is only like two minutes long. Yeah, my complaint is that I'm begging for more.
6. Chess Pieces
Along with "Battle Shogun", this title is just screaming "we might have some weird kind of relation to the wu tang so check us out or else you're not a real wu tang Stan." Unfortunately, the group can't drawl any other comparisons as this song isn't very good. The lyrics are below average and none of the things they think are clever actually are. Also, it took me multiple listens to realize the hook wasn't just another verse, which is a pretty good sign that you're hook is too wordy. On the upside, Habitual is really good at this stealing RZAs style thing and cooks up a pretty damn good instrumental.
7. Harvestor Of Death (Feat. Portarock)
That title is pretty fucking awesome. First things first, Portarock needs to get the fuck away from this group or else he's going to keep getting embarrassed by Contribution X. Contribution sounds really good on this song and blows away previously mentioned Portarock. Again though, the biggest thing I took away from this song s that Habitual is a really good producer, who deserves to have his name more prevalent in the hip hop game. After a skit and some silence, we are treated to a very short bonus track by the name "Real Life". Not sure why this didn't make the original cut because this song is really damn good.
Rating: 3/5
A Matter Of Darkness is not an album that is going to change your life or give you a different perspective on hip hop, but it provided me with some quality entertainment during its short running time. The highest points of the album are actually those with contributions from guests, which you can interpret as you wish. Some of these songs fall flat, mostly due to the lyrics of Contribution X, but more than half of the songs are really good and make me wish this was longer. With that being said, the short length of the EP ultimately work for the benefit of the duo. If you're a fan of the wu tang, then you'll be able to appreciate the instrumental much more but wu knowledge is not essential. If you decide to disregard all the new music coming out and travel into the weird part of hip hop, you'll be entertained for at least a couple songs. Not bad at all.