[Album Review] MHz Legacy – “Megacy” – ####1/2 Review

Twenty seconds of scratches begin what is, after fifteen years, MHz Legacy’s debut album.  Through many setbacks, conflicts, and the loss of Camu Tao, the idea that this album even exists is an incredible tribute to the idea that sometimes good things come to those that wait.  A parallel to this album can be seen in Bret Hart and WWE’s reunion a few years ago within the confines of the WWE and the world of professional wrestling.  No one thought Hart and Vince would forgive, forget, and move on; no one expected Sean Michaels and Hart to become friends.  Things happen for a reason, and sometimes the public reaps all the rewards.  As is the case with the name change from MHz, the Legacy was added in tribute to the loss of Camu Tao.  It’s a new group, forged from the ashes of the Columbus, Ohio heavyweights that showed us how to fondle the mic via Bobbito’s golden-era of indie vinyl. 

What follows is a signifying fact to the idea that you don’t have to abandon the tried and true formula of beats, rhymes, and cuts; you can just enhance with modern production, choruses, and some of the other techniques that have become more prevalent in hip-hop in the 2000s.  Copywrite, Tage Future, Jakki Da Motamouth, and Camu Tao (through unused verses) keep the lyricism sharp.  There are plenty of outstanding emcees in hip-hop, but many of them often dumb down their lyricism for their music, or they maintain their poetic penchant but spit over wack production.  Megacy warrants attention because the outstanding lyricism is maintained, and it is enhanced by strong beats by a grip of producers including: group member RJD2, Jason Rose, Stu Bangas, Marco Polo, !llmind, J Rawls, Surock, D1, Harry Fraud, and Rob Stern.  RJ, handling six of the seventeen tracks, seals the deal to the fact that this is indeed a legit MHz release. 

Despite all of the aforementioned strengths, the highlight of the album may be its diversity.  Each song is a unique creation within the structure of the album, but all mold together to form a distinct body of work that bangs.  “Mass Temple” utilizes a soulful chorus, piano, organ, and strings, which lead way to guitar, drums, and lyrics focusing on the self-improvement the crew is working on.  “Satisfied” with Slug finds rappers that will never find satisfaction until they touch the sky, it is a sure shot head-bopper and toe-tapper.  On “Tero Smith”, the crew writes a letter to Camu Tao with static running through the loop.  It may be perfect closure for a crew that never got to pay proper tribute to a candle that burned out too soon.  In some ways Camu was years ahead of many in the culture, and “Spaceship” with Danny Brown shows what type of steeze he was on that producer Harry Brown is just getting around to a decade later.  

There are a lot of standout cuts on the record; a lot of tracks that take repeated listens to fully grasp lyrically and conceptually; and a lot of surprises for a longtime fan of the crew and their solo projects.  Some songs may even seem a little bit of a radical departure from what one was expecting, but there are no misses.  If anything, the album is a grower, and the longer it is on the more the secondary tracks will draw the eardrums in. 

A decade-and-a-half is a long time in life; it’s an even longer time in a music that looks at an act as being stale a few albums in.  MHz Legacy has pulled an amazing feat, they have gotten younger and better with age, Benjamin Button-style. 

Rating: ####1/2 out of #####

Track List:

1. Accidentally On Purpose (Prod. By Rob Stern)
2. Hindsight (1998) Ft. Playdough (Prod. By RJD2)
3. Four Player Mode (Prod. By RJD2)
4. Out Of Room (Prod. By RJD2)
5. Spaceship Ft. Danny Brown (Prod. By Harry Fraud)
6. Soul Train (Of Thought) Ft. Oh No The Disrupt (Of Gangrene) (Prod. By !llmind)
7. Addictionary Ft. ILL BILL & Slaine (Of La Coka Nostra) (Prod. By Stu Bangas)
8. Gone! (Prod. By Surock)
9. Obituaries (Prod. By Marco Polo)
10. Columbus Diss Patch Ft. Dom (Prod. By J Rawls)
11. Mass Temple Ft. Steve From Middle Distance Runner (Prod. By Jason Rose)
12. Y’all Don’t Know (Prod. By D1)
13. Yellow & Blue Ft. Blu (Prod. By Surock)
14. Satisfaction Ft. Slug (Of Atmosphere) (Prod. By RJD2)
15. Tero Smith Ft. Aaron Livingston (Of Icebird) (Prod. By RJD2)
16. Somewhere (2099) (Prod. By RJD2)
17. Mechanical Me (Prod. By Jason Rose)