Mindbender / Various

Mindbender once again goes jacking for beats with his second mix-tape, No More Mr. Fucking Nice Guy Vol. 2, hoping the familiar instrumentals will offset his offbeat flow and abstract lyricism to finally appeal to a more mainstream audience usually uneasy with unusual rap styles. Mining classics from Tupac, Wu-Tang, ODB, Ras Kass and Nas, as well as contemporary beats from the likes of Eminem, 50 Cent, Ludacris and more, is a smart move to interest the average rap fan, but Mindbender will likely be just as difficult to digest here as he is on his favoured El-P-style productions. Mindbender sweetens the deal a little more by imitating some of the hooks and verses of the songs he’s borrowing, even going so far as to do a fantastic imitation/cover of Ol’ Dirty Bastard on "When Gods Rhyme.” And even when he’s not imitating, he’s name dropping and revealing his deep love and knowledge for all sub-genres and aspects of hip-hop. Hopefully Mindbender’s preoccupation with religion won’t further deter listeners from checking out this mix-tape, which serves as an intimate peak into the mind of an obsessed hip-hop fan. Many may find they have much in common with the mind behind ’Bender’s No More Mr. Fucking Nice Guy Vol. 2.