Muggs Presents the Soul Assassins, Chapter II

• Artist: Muggs
• Rating:
• Release Date: October 03, 2000
• Type: Contains explicit content
• Genre: Rap

Review

Few hip-hop producers can craft such evocative soundscapes as Muggs. He doesn't just drop beats but rather revealing cinematic realms of sound with the uncanny ability to clearly communicate his smoky visions. Little more than halfway through Muggs Presents the Soul Assassins, Chapter II's elegant opening track, "Real Life," the languid tempo that his laconic string of beats bounce at perfectly accentuates the song's drifting synth ambience and the similarly swaying sound of a haunting female voice. Every one of these 13 tracks serve as the sound of a ghostly world filled with somber melancholia, the lifted soul of Muggs conveyed through music. Yet in the hip-hop world, great beats aren't enough; not only is the MC equally important, but he often eclipses great beats, for the better or for the worse. On certain songs, the many guest rappers featured on this album make the beats even better, such as when GZA, Xzibit, Goodie Mob, or Kool G. Rap step up to the mic. A few of the guest rappers do detract from the dark beauty of Muggs' poetry, as by no means is this a consistent album, but with such a broad roster of MCs from all coasts, you really can't expect that. Muggs Presents the Soul Assassins, Chapter II isn't quite as blessed with MC talent as the first Soul Assassins album, yet it's still a noble accomplishment by Muggs, lengths ahead of most hip-hop producers' work. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Real Life	Lawrence Muggerud, Kool G Rap	Kool G Rap	(4:03)
We Will Survive (Lyrics)	L.Z. Cooper, Lawrence Muggerud		(4:19)
You Better Believe It	Lawrence Muggerud	Xzibit, King Lee	(4:03)
When the Fat Lady Sings	Lawrence Muggerud	GZA	(3:15)
This Some 'N To	Lawrence Muggerud	Goodie Mob	(3:24)
Armageddon (Interlude)		Kurupt	(2:15)
Victory or Defeat			(4:01)
Heart of the Assassin	M. Jones, Lawrence Muggerud, D. Brown	Ras Kass, Chace Infinite	(2:26)
Suckers Are Hidin'	R. Taylor	Dilated Peoples	(3:03)
When the Pain Inflict	R. Brown, Lawrence Muggerud, D. Williams	Kurupt, Roscoe	(3:29)
Don't Trip	Lawrence Muggerud, Louis Freese	Cypress Hill	(2:54)
Razor to Your Throat	Lawrence Muggerud, Erik Schrody	Everlast	(2:38)
Millennium Thrust			(8:16)

Credits

Dilated Peoples (Performer), Troy Staton (Mixing), King Lee (Performer), Troy Staton (Engineer), Josh Butler (Engineer), Goodie Mob (Performer), Xzibit (Performer), Ras Kass (Performer), Cypress Hill (Performer)