Sulfur

Sulfur's mash-up of Nas's God's Son album with Marvel's version of thunder god Thor is a brilliant concept, and like so many great ideas, it seems so obvious in hindsight. Using six of the instrumentals from God's Son, Sulfur trades the guns, girls and drugs hood raps of Nas for Asgardian raps about hammers, aliens and ale. This free mixtape opens with a sample of Odin swearing in his son, Thor, as protector of the realm before "Get Down" kicks in over the Salaam Remi instrumental for the Nas track of the same name. On this song, Sulfur is joined by comic book rapper Adam WarRock — his verse is one of the highlights of the album — and Mikal kHill (Sulfur's rap partner in Thought Criminals), each rapping from the point of view of Thor. It's a great introduction to the character, but with a trio of rappers, it's a missed opportunity to do a number about the Warriors Three. Following "Get Down" is "Beta Ray Bill" (reworking "The Cross") for a track about my favourite character in Marvel's Thor mythology: an alien worthy of wielding the hammer of Thor. Said hammer happens to be the subject of "Mjolnir" (which utilizes "Mastermind"), while "Building Bombs" (employing "Heaven") and "In the Sky" (using acoustic jam "Thugz Mansion") mellow out the vibe somewhat before the album concludes with party track "Drink Ale Everyday" (which reworks "Revolutionary Warfare"). This is the perfect prelude to the upcoming release of Thor: Dark World.