Hylandaz

The Hylandaz — Hostile Takeover

Mastered by Justin Tune

Produced by Keino M. West, Aaron Wilson and William Dabbs, Jr.







Every now and then a hip-hop group comes along that is just different. The Hylandaz, a fusion of talented producers (Bathgate, Doc West and Omega the Mad Knight) with a self-described mission of putting out quality hip-hop music, definitely fit the bill. Currently based out of Atlanta, The Hylandaz, with their Northern and Midwestern roots, have managed to maintain their originality while resisting the temptation to get swept up in the hip-hop styles for which this city is so well known.

Hostile Takeover thematically follows The Hylandaz as they take over radio stations across the country. The coup is in full effect by the third track, “Art of Poise,” featuring Killa Kalm, a fast-paced party tune that would undoubtedly have every head in the club moving back and forth in unison. One of the most attention-grabbing tracks is “U Know Who You Are,” featuring Danny S. The vocal hook, “I don’t have to go that far, you know who you are,” is the most memorable line from the CD.

Another standout track is “Bloodlines,” featuring Omega and Nebulus the Legend. With a simple two-note piano melody, it is more reminiscent of a jazz composition, and tempered, sharp vocals blend seamlessly with the song’s harmonious sound. Never ones to be pigeonholed, The Hylandaz later feature Larry Miller and Shadow Master on “The Wall,” a guitar-dominated track with lyrics focused on what to do when one finds one’s back against the wall. Perhaps the group’s originality is most prominent on “Ernie Kovaks,” which features the smart vocals of Tableek and Omega over an infectious and creative beat by Omega.

Though the intro and interludes describing the radio rebellion may be somewhat corny, Hostile Takeover should be taken seriously as an important statement for the more conscious segment of the hip-hop community. The creative and musically interesting beats are expertly combined with unconventional lyrics to produce a product that might just propel The Hylandaz to a real-life takeover. (Self-released)

www.hylandaz.com

-Jonathan Mason

- SouthEast Performer Mag

Hylandaz
Hostile Takeover
- | 2007

Conceptualized as a radio show take-over, colourfully underlined with comical skits ('Hylandaz? What they gonna do? Bust out their swords?') by Kevin Beacham and the guys from the Late Nite Hype Show a.o., Hylandaz' newest album is your chance to discover the quartet consisting of Chicago’s Doc West (Single Minded Pros), Billy Bathgate, Omega and Nebulus.

A take-over is something that many underground heads have dreamt of, but sadly remains utopian with a music industry weighing this much on the survival options of any station. The idea is welcome though, and, at the same time, pays tribute to radio programmes who still try to promote the independent music scene. 'Hostile Takeover’ is a collection of songs that displays Hylandaz’ productional as well as MC skills, with Omega and Nebulus proving to be full-blown rhyme spitters. 'Bloodlines' for instance, shows the duo’s raw and metaphorical style blessing the sloppy drum-layered, piano-tinged beat.

Highlight guest is Boston’s mid-school legend Ed O.G. (without da Bulldogs) starring on the melancholic, slow-paced 'Mass Transits' ('Get ya neck split, not like Siegfried’s but Roy’s'). Actually, there’s a herd of underground heroes such as C Rayz Walz in 'Art Of Energy' (rhyming over the sparkling sample of Blackbyrds’ 'Mysterious Vibes', that found forever fame when it was used in Kurious’ 'I’m Kurious'), Binkis Recs (with bouncy raps over strings and funkiness in 'Back to Basics'), Maspyke (tackling a Beatminerz kind of beat on 'Sucker Free', 'Tableek is a mucho bad muthafucker', as the Maspyke front man proves in 'Ernie Kovaks' for the second time) plus Main Flow controlling a Latin guitar-infested beat with a lot of liveliness and bullet-shaped punch lines in 'Opposites', sharing the mic with Seth of Eratik Statik.

With jazz-inspired, progressive and smoothly mastered production, Hylandaz is at the first place a production crew that, however hard to accomplish these days, sets its own, recognizable sound from note one till the last track. The album’s strength lays therefore moreover in production, in hip-hop legends (Ed O.G.) and names that ring a bell or two in the underground.

posted by: cpf | 04-24-2007 | rated: phat - Platform8470.com