Team Demolition -- Demolition Derby: The Wreckoning
Depth Charge Records (www.depthcharge.com)
BIO: TD's founders, Zechariah Wise and Dial Tone met while attending grade school together. The group was formed after several changes and additions to the lineup around 1996 when the decision was made to flip the crew's name from Demolition Team to Team Demolition. From 1998 to 2000, TD released three singles in the US and one in the United Kingdom while in the process of recording their debut album, "Demolition Derby-The Wreckoning" and touring throughout the United States. The album and new single, "The Burbs," was released in February 2001 and the group has since been touring to support the record.
The Wreckoning in one a long line of good indie CDs that's been released in the last month. Solid indie hip-hop though is hard to come by, so I was pumped when I heard Team Demolition's debut joint "Demolition Derby: The Wreckoning." Some tracks are forgettable, but the rest of the songs will hit you like a rocket powered jackhammer. The standout track (which coincidentally is the album's first single), "The Burbs," is a testament to how creative hip-hop can be, the beat is a throbbing bass track backed by showtune piano.
What's wrong with this CD is that most of the songs (with the exception of "Teamwork" and "The Burbs") don't have the hooks to make people come back. You'll listen all the way through once, then just skip through the CD to the tracks you like the rest of the time. With that said, I also hope in store buyers wanting to cop (that's rapper talk for buy) this record won't be scared away by the dull cover art.
Best Track: "The Burbs," a clever critique on suburb life with a bouncing beat and a background of showtune piano. Who can beat lyrics like "where dysfunctional families live in denial (that's the burbs) and your neighbor can be an undercover petaphile"
The Bottom Line: Depth Charge record's motto, "Preserving Authentic Hip Hop for Future generations" stands true. It's a shame that there are underground MCs like this who don't get the credit they deserve, and at the same time Master P makes millions for yelling, "We 'bout that."
