The track that most people will want to hear is ‘Any Man’ by Eminem. All the hallmarks of an Eminem track are present: he disses his mother, raps about STDs and his daughter Hallie gets a mention. While the lyrics are pretty standard, Da Beatminerz production is superb making this Mathers’ best work to date, however, it isn’t the best track on the collection by a long way. RA The Rugged Man is suitably aggressive on ‘Stanley Kubrick’. The Rugged Man rarely releases any material, so this track should excite hardcore rap fans. For those not in the know, RA is similar to 50 Cent in his delivery and demeanour, but infinitely more talented. Elsewhere, Pharoahe Monch’s tale of a renegade cop on the rampage on ‘Mayor’ is simply awesome. Monch plays the part of a rebel policeman who goes on a murderous rampage in revenge for his father’s suspension from the force, “My last minutes on earth / drop say a prayer / f**k it if I’m gonna die / at least I shot the Mayor.” It’s a wonderfully weaved tale and the atmospheric strings make it all the more cinematic. The other standouts include ‘1-9-9-9’ by Common and Sadat X, ‘Brooklyn Hard Rock’ by Thirstin Howl III and ‘A B-Boy Document 99’ by The High & Mighty. The truth is though, there is not a single bad track on this collection.

While the tracks by Eminem, Mos Def et al will be the most listened to by fans of more traditional hip hop, there is one track on the album that overshadows all others. Company Flow’s ‘Patriotism’ is frankly one of the most awesome things I have ever heard. Reminding, yet again, exactly how much of a shame it is that they split after only two LPs. It’s a messy piece of conspiracy theory rhetoric, as Big Jus and EL-P bring the US government to task on several issues, ‘You don’t even know the chemicals you’ve ingested / urine tested / beat innocent man til he confesses” EL-P declares during the second verse. The light-speed rhymes are severely at odds with the hypnotic, “left, right, left, right” hook and the EL-P production is typically obtuse. Needless to say, fans of Company Flow really need to hear this track.

Soundbombing II is certainly the best of the three in the series. It is a perfect showcase of the Rawkus label at the height of its power. Not only are the tracks all great, special mention must be given to the Beat Junkies for mixing the tracks so well. Soundbombing II is a near-perfect mix album and one of the most impressive works in the Rawkus canon.

The track that most people will want to hear is ‘Any Man’ by Eminem. All the hallmarks of an Eminem track are present: he disses his mother, raps about STDs and his daughter Hallie gets a mention. While the lyrics are pretty standard, Da Beatminerz production is superb making this Mathers’ best work to date, however, it isn’t the best track on the collection by a long way. RA The Rugged Man is suitably aggressive on ‘Stanley Kubrick’. The Rugged Man rarely releases any material, so this track should excite hardcore rap fans. For those not in the know, RA is similar to 50 Cent in his delivery and demeanour, but infinitely more talented. Elsewhere, Pharoahe Monch’s tale of a renegade cop on the rampage on ‘Mayor’ is simply awesome. Monch plays the part of a rebel policeman who goes on a murderous rampage in revenge for his father’s suspension from the force. This story is summarised perfectly by the chorus, “My last minutes on earth / drop say a prayer / f**k it if I’m gonna die / at least I shot the Mayor.” It’s a wonderfully weaved tale and the atmospheric strings make it all the more cinematic. The other standouts include ‘1-9-9-9’ by Common and Sadat X, ‘Brooklyn Hard Rock’ by Thirstin Howl III and ‘A B-Boy Document 99’ by The High & Mighty. The truth is though, there is not a single bad track on this collection.

While the tracks by Eminem, Mos Def et al will be the most listened to by fans of more traditional hip hop, there is one track on the album that overshadows all others. Company Flow’s ‘Patriotism’ is frankly one of the most amazing things I have ever heard. Reminding me, once again, exactly how much of a shame it is that they split after only two LPs. It’s a messy piece of conspiracy theory rhetoric, as Big Jus and EL-P bring the US government to task on several issues, ‘You don’t even know the chemicals you’ve ingested / urine tested / beat innocent man til he confesses” EL-P declares during the second verse. The light-speed rhymes are severely at odds with the hypnotic, “left, right, left, right” hook and the EL-P production is typically obtuse. Needless to say, fans of Company Flow really need to hear this track.

Soundbombing II is certainly the best of the three in the series. It is a perfect showcase of the Rawkus label at the height of its power. Not only are the tracks all great, special mention must be given to the Beat Junkies for mixing the tracks so well. Soundbombing II is a near-perfect mix album and perhaps the most impressive work in the Rawkus canon.