Killah Priest: The Exorcist

In these Afghani-Israeli-Sri Lanka wartorn days and times, you can’t go wrong with an explosion-filled, Falluja-like wartorn album introduction to dive into someone musical madness. But having that soundscape seamlessly secure itself to Killah Priest in Heavy Mental mode, spitting hellfire on the same ominous violins Shyne destroyed on “Whatcha Gonna Do” on his debut instantly just takes everything to a better level. I love this shit already. And I love that it instantly feels worthy of the title. On song number two (!), Killah Priest has a CHORUS that murderously sings “A hit on the Rothchilds/ I want judges and president laid down/ before the order of the New World goes around“. Holy fuck. Is this guy really taking his supreme storytelling, inspired by Paris’s “Bush Killa” type shit, to the realm of Illuminati mason assassination? Yes. Yes he fucking is. Unbelievable. This kind of imaginative, paranoid, pseudo-psycho music is what hip hop is made for. This is Ghost Dog on record. Don’t tell me Forest Whitaker couldn’t play Killah Priest in a film adaptation of this cinematic classic-in-the-making.

“Gate Way” finds the Exorcist visiting the spirits of the great MCs of the past in a more ethereal fashion than the obligatory shoutout, and it’s quite pleasant. The production cradles the lyrics with concern and respect, as the lingering air of mental tension, tortured love for words and doomed destiny permeate Killah Priest’s super-scientifical spiritual lyrics. This album is on a mission, and it won’t let anything living or dead stop it from accomplishment.

But, only it can stop itself. The hook of “Pride” leaves an odd taste in the mouth for some reason, but the rolling thunder pulse of the beat and the meaning of the lyrics save it from spoiling this séance. Killah Priest continues, undaunted: “My brain’s haunted/ I got a conscience full of convicts/ bloody tampon’s a blonde chick with blood on her lips…” Eww. But wow. The eerie 80’s stalker soundtrack of the stream of conscious madman mathematics of this odd number will have your head expanding, cramming to understand KP’s curious imagination.

It couldn’t all be perfect, could it? Well, if you don’t mind the odd warbling and questionable materialism in the hook of the bombastic, but slightly unnecessary cut “Fame,” then it still will be close enough to perfection to satisfy most hip hop heads (especially any Wu-Tang Killah Beez buzzing for another Shaolin special). Because after that, the title track jumbles an assortment of Catholic religious image shards smashing into each other with little discernible purpose except to enlighten you to the universe in Killah Priest’s mind. And if you were still pissed off about “Fame,” then the existential minimalist anthem “None of That” might soothe your savage beast.

No motherfucking auto-tune. No guest productions by Cool and Dre or Jazze Pha or Scott Storch. No guest verse by Lil’ Wayne. This is a single man’s vision manifested. The closest thing you get to any reference to modern day hip hop is simply this:

“We throwing cocktails/ OG secret Roswell/ niggas mad cause we walk with Jesus, like Kanye/ who talk like Yahweh Ben Yahweh with an AK and a Gauge at your ribcage“. Then an MC named Victorious solemnly states “We Want Peace” before letting the sonic carnage commence. Awesome.

It’s a good look for Killah Priest to end off this album by not only delivering a worthy sequel in “Science Projects Part 2,” but by remaining a hundred and ten percent committed to the concept of this project. That kind of fervor gets taken for granted. But when you hear it, you remember that the best rap can be damn near magic and that three-minute crying saxophone outro is a finale worth calling regal.

Killah Priest is here to save your soul. Get possessed by this shit.

83/100

“The Exorcist”

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“Silent Assassin”

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“Warfare”

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