Portsmouth, Ohio emcee/producer Billy Obey celebrating his born day with his official solo debut. Known for being a founding member of the almighty Alla Xul Elu, he alongside Joey Black & later Lee Carver have spent the past 7 years building up their independently owned Long Live Evil record label as a brand you can trust within the underground wicked shit scene with the Super Famous Fun Time Guys & S.O.N. joining LLE’s roster. In preparation of Xul’s upcoming 7th album No Masters, the Rhymebook of the Recently Deceased is getting cracked open.
After titular intro, “Never Trust the Living” opens with an occult rap rock/boom bap crossover going 187 on all these other rappers whereas the industrially raw “Creepin’ It Real” talks about being an artist when it comes to murder. “Ugly on the Inside” poses the question of whether or not one sees a good person or someone like him when looking at the mirror while “Snake Oil Salesman” talks about searching for something that isn’t soil.
“Saviour Save Your Breath” hits the halfway mark by suggesting that nothing can be said to change his ways since he’ll always be the same while the infernal boom bap cut “Hell’s Wear the Heart Is” talks about being a certified psycho born & raised staying higher than his city’s abortion rate. “Life Sentence” makes it a mission to let the world know he’s writing his life away when he goes while “Family Portrait” talks about still being out of place even in frame.
The song “Taking Me Places” begins the Rhymebook of the Recently Deceased’s final pages by discussing how creativity has taken him farther than he could’ve ever imagined & daydreaming of slowing down just before “When I Saw You” talks about the only way he’d ever leave this woman he’s obsessed with is in pieces. “Someone Else, Somewhere Else” finishes the LP by tackling the difficulty of accepting the timeline we’re living in no matter the hand you’re given.
It was hard to tell whether when or if Billy Obey would ever release a solo project since Lee Carver previously dropped Massacre Mask & The Backstabber’s Handbook prior to him joining Alla Xul Elu but regardless of whether or not Joey Black decides to put out a solo effort now that Xul left Majik Ninja Entertainment couple months ago, Rhymebook of the Recently Deceased makes for a properly great introduction of what Bill Now the Science Cow can do on his own with the industrial boom bap sound A.X.E. is known for & their lyrically wicked lyricism.
Score: 9/10