Souls
of Mischief have been quiet for quite some time, preparing
what has now become "Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution".
The fruits of this tedious labor are ultimately manifested
in this official 3rd release from Opio, Tajai, A-Plus and
Phesto Dee. "Trilogy" covers a whopping 18 tracks,
going well over 64 minutes worth of music. Like every Souls
album before it, it is comparable to nothing. As a group,
Souls of Mischief have continually grown not only as a collective,
but as individuals as well. Rhyming patterns and styles
have become more refined, production talents have itched
onto both Opio and Phesto, and the group as a whole have
a wealth of maturity and experience under their belts no
doubt in part leant by going from signed to independent.
While "FOCUS" was a project put out by Souls independently
in 1997, it was not an "official" release. "Trilogy"
marks the return of Souls of Mischief to hiphop in true
group-oriented form, and unquestionably signals for the
"Resolution" to be experienced.
The majority of the songs are produced by A-Plus and Opio,
however, Hiero's very own Domino makes his production presence
felt on "The Interrogation". Hiero members PepLove
& Casual compliment said song with a heavy barrage of
lyrical firepower. Live instrumentation is provided by the
one, Amp Fiddler, on keys upon the song "Bad Business".
Spoken word artist J. Crow expounds vocally on the concept
of "Conflict", with Digital Underground songstress
Mystic lacing some extremely sensual vocals on "Phoenix
Rising: Resolution". Mystic also appears on "Mama
Knows Best"; a song which Parliament / Funkadelic legend,
George Clinton also blesses vocals upon, backed up by P-Funk
cohort Michael "Kid Funkadelik" Hampton on the
guitar. This is an extremely powerful song, and Souls must
be commended for engineering such a fantastic teamup of
talent.
Norwegian producer, Tommy Tee produced a number of songs
on the record as well; the balance between Tee's music and
Souls' vocals meld seamlessly. Hieroglyphics' JayBiz lends
scratching talents throughout the record, most notably on
"Supdoder (What's the Re?)" where an old skool
A-Plus vocal sample gets a lovely cutup treatment. And last
but not least, "Soundscience" pairs up Souls of
Mischief with Dilated Peoples' Evidence & DJ Babu; a
song which nearly missed the record's cutoff date.
"Trilogy" does not sound like "93 Til",
nor does it sound like "No Man's Land". It doesn't
sound like "FOCUS" either. It is something completely
new and unique, crafted with time and care, not a single
bit rushed or contrived. Please check out the following
sound clips and attached pictures and media. Enjoy, and
pick the album up when it is released on Hieroglyphics Imperium
Records, October 24th 2000.
SELECTED
SOUND CLIPS:
The Interrogation: RealAudio
| MP3
Last Night: RealAudio
| MP3
Mama Knows Best: RealAudio
| MP3
Medication: RealAudio
| MP3
Acupuncture: RealAudio
| MP3
Fucked In The Industry: RealAudio
| MP3
Sound Science: RealAudio
| MP3
Supdoder (What's The Re?): RealAudio
| MP3
Airborne Rangers: RealAudio
| MP3
RELATED
LINKS:
"Trilogy"
Tracklisting
Souls
of Mischief "Trilogy" Fall Tour 2000
"Medication"
Quicktime Video (10M)
"Medication"
b/w "Acupuncture 12" Vinyl Single
"Medication"
b/w "Acupuncture" CD Single
PURCHASE
THIS ALBUM ONLINE AT:
Sandbox
Automatic
HipHopSite
Amazon.Com
Click On The Surrounding Images For
Larger Pictures
Original Character Illustration
By Cassady, T-Shirt Coming Soon
