Local Record Review: 'The Radical Era' by Sacred Blasphemy



Sacred Blasphemy

The Radical Era
http://sacredblasphemyradicals.wordpress.com


The Radical Era has arrived and its epicenter is Anaheim. Underground street hip-hop group Sacred Blasphemy let you know where they're coming from throughout their recently released, full-length debut album. Getting their start in 2008, the crew now includes Skandalouz Riot, Zoot Suit Classic, Rinoe, Spanx and DJ Deplete. Though The Radical Era may sound and look like typical Chicano Rap at times, the offerings from its 14 tracks are diverse enough to transcend the label.
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The album's strongest track “Kings Are Back” is a hard hitting updated West Coast banger, one that you'll want to bump in your system cruising the calles of the city. The group then turns to straight underground sounds with “On the Move,” while Rah Band gets an Anaheim funk remake into hip-hop on “Messages from Beyond.” These three stand out tracks alone hit upon three key soundscapes of the city that Sacred Blasphemy represents.

Lyrically, the group is zoned into bringing you the realities of street life with a social perspective. Think of them as an OC manifestation of Psycho Realm, which isn't hard when Big Duke blessed them with the beat for “War of Terror.” Sacred Blasphemy wields a political edge with straight forward rhymes from sharpened tongues. And lyrics from the song “Soul Shadows” prove to be a prime outlet for inner-city angst:
 
“They comin' after me / No, I think they just confused / Blaming me for riots and violence on the news / Then my rhymes are sparking questions / People want the truth / Deceivingly they lie and blame the ghetto youth.

Back in the day, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of the ghettos of the North and his encounters with “desperate, rejected and angry young men.” When he preached non-violence, they returned with questions about Vietnam, hitting home and influencing his public outspoken stance against the war.

Decades later, the rhymes behind Sacred Blasphemy's The Radical Era carry the same kind of revolutionary spirit in their DNA, wrapped up inside a shell of West Coast swagger. The end result is an album that blows your mind as well as your subwoofers. 

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