Brand new studio LP & the 15th overall from Highbury, North London, England, United Kingdom emcee Ramson Badbonez. An underwing of the Task Force, he would eventually sign to Boot Records until making his High Focus Records debut in 2013 with A Year in the Life of Oscar the Slouch. Hypnodic, Jason Bonez, Mic Day the 13th, Death Mask, Fusion & the Leaf Dog-produced White Rabbit would all come out under the Hove, East Sussex imprint & has linked up with Illinformed for Crystal Skull.
After the “Psychic Channel” intro, the 2nd single “1 to 10” kicks things off with this soulful boom bap intro flexing the strength of his pen whereas the lead single “Animos City” talks about most having the inability of prevailing in this circular maze. “Lost Relic” takes the symphonic boom bap route instrumentally speaking of being heavenly suspenseful in mood until the 3rd single “Afterglow” talks about our light trying to be controlled whether it’s bright or not.
Farma G appears for the smooth yet dusty “True Colours” so they can discuss women revealing their real personalities to them after hiding it for some time just before the 4th & final single “Crime or Rhyme” hooks up a flute to talk about being intertwined by those 2 things since 1999 when he used to roll with the Task Force back in the day. “Code” gets the 2nd half narcissists displaying where their alliance truly lies while “Blue” passionately talks about his family life.
“Terrors” featuring Kakarot finds the pair discussing the fight or flight agenda while “Shots Fired” eerily gets in his battle rap bag lyrically. Blessing” featuring Leaf Dog hops over a soulful boom bap beat looking to hand out gratitude when one needs it & after “Guitar Case” cinematically shows off his storytelling abilities, “Spirit Science” featuring Mr. Rozzi wraps up Crystal Skull talking about the walls of time being quieter than inner silence.
It wasn’t too surprising to hear Ramson Badbonez reached out to Illinformed weeks after White Rabbit came out last spring to bring this sequel to life & sure enough, Crystal Skull will satisfy fans who resonated with it’s predecessor 19 months earlier ranking amongst the Silver Surfa’s finest material. He’s defiantly standing tall in spite of the world around him falling apart & Illinformed’s production feels unparalleled to Leaf’s, opening the door for the possibility of both Leigh Brothers getting behind the boards for the saga’s next chapter.
Score: 8/10