Sy ShacklefordA protégé of R.A. the Rugged Man, A-F-R-O is a self-confessed movie nerd. And if his action movie poster-inspired album covers are any indication, so is Stu Bangas. This union of emcee and producer has spawned “The Bad and The Ugly”. Though excising the word “good” from both its Clint Eastwood-homage title and album cover, that elimination didn’t affect the quality of this ten-track project. One thing the album immediately earns points for is its lack of interludes/skits or some short and dramatic intro track. Instead, A-F-R-O and Stu Bangas hit the ground running.
A-F-R-O begins with battle lyrics right off the bat, but not the typical kind. He takes a playful approach with “Hip-Hop Tournament”, name-checking several hip-hop artists and pitting them against each other the way a child does with action figures. Over Stu’s bass and horns, A-F-R-O gets imaginative with his hip-hop showdowns which include everyone from Rakim, DMX, Lady of Rage, Rapsody, Tonedeff, Ludacris, and others. Now “Bring Ya Best Army” is a traditional battle track. When A-F-R-O dropped 2016’s “A-F-R-O Polo”, he was in his late teens and showed potential of a pen game which would improve with time. He seems aware of this presently as he raps “Navigate the end-game, bleed the rest promptly / Activate the pen-play, bring ya best army.” The lead single, “Lost Souls”, contains a well-manipulated synth sample, DJ scratching, and a short verse from A-F-R-O. The accompanying video has a similar home movie feel:
Moody strings and guitar samples permeate the air on “From Dusk Till Dawn”, featuring Coney Island emcee Lil Dee Raps. They provide one verse each, but A-F-R-O takes the win for his use of internal rhyme schemes. On “Pay Attention”, he takes his pen game further with alliterative bars such as “Patrollin’ through Prometheus, perhaps I’m in a padded cell / Pin-pointed poison, spittin’ out passion from within self.” The shortest track on the album, “Hallucinogenz” is a psychedelic ode to the psychotropics with references to Chris Tucker and the Coen Brothers. “Story of a Scumbag” has dark overtones to its production to coincide with the narration: A description of a sore loser who goes down in flames.
The creepy bell samples on “Eyes Closed” help to accentuate its spooky atmosphere. “Breakadawn” features Horror City and Motion Plus, with all three emcees coming correct in their verses. “Run 4 Ya Life!” closes out the album with what A-F-R-O calls an “L.A. Chainsaw Massacre.” Overall, “The Bad and the Ugly” is a fun album as it’s two men who share a rapport in having fun with their honed crafts.