M.O.P.

The low-down gritty and grimy Mash Out Posse, Billy Danzenie and Lil' Fame, have returned with their impassioned larynx-wrenching deliveries to awaken that side of you that you never thought existed. Unabashedly reckless, their frenzied mic techniques prove they're not the best MCs in the world, but their undiluted and uncompromising stance has endeared them to heads and earned them perennial underdog status since their raucous 1993 introduction, How About Some Hardcore? Now releasing their fourth album on their third label, "the original back street boys," with long-time advocate and executive producer DJ Premier, hope to cultivate some long overdue respect. Some curious initial sequencing almost blunts the effects of the body-rocking street-leaked tracks, "Ante Up" and "G Building" at the outset, but the sheer intensity of the duo and the undisputed potency of the production ensures Warriorz becomes stronger with every track and is arguably their most consistent effort. Showing they can rock more styles than permanent full throttle, "Calm Down" is melodic and mid-tempo, closer "Foundation" is a particularly poignant reminiscence and Foreigner is warped on "Cold As Ice." The verbal gun-claps aren't as prevalent and there's no 2000 version of "Downtown Swinga," but overall, to M.O.P's advantage, there's not much straying from their well-oiled formula. To the uninitiated, the relentless adrenaline could prove grating and granted, M.O.P. isn't for everybody, but parochialism is rarely this invigorating.