Hidden Fortress

Vancouver, BC's nofutureface and UsdNeedls are back with a new Hidden Fortress record, but with shout-outs from the likes of Chuck D and Sen Dog it comes off as more of a mixtape, even going so far as to connect many songs with blends or vocal sample interludes. However, the sound quality is higher, the beats are all UsdNeedls originals and the songs are exclusive to this release, so White Violence certainly qualifies as their sophomore album. As with the first, UsdNeedls lays down a backdrop of pounding drums, creepy music, Halloween sound effects samples and subtle cuts for nofutureface's horrorcore raps that, like any good horror, stand in for the everyday ills that plague the real world, using the genre as a metaphor to comment on everything from politics and society to the state of hip-hop and MC braggadocio. With his fairly straightforward flow, nofutureface reveals an impressive knowledge of the horror genre, but you don't need to be well-versed, or even interested, in horror in order to appreciate the music and message. But, if you like dark hip-hop, White Violence is worth a listen.