El Da Sensei & Tame One make up the underground duo Artifacts. Their debut album, "Between a Rock & A Hard Place" is celebrated largely due to the 12" release of "Wrong Side Of Da Tracks" with "Flexi With Da Tech" on the B-Side. The New Jerusalem MCs brought a dope element of hip-hop to the forefront in their music. The Source in '94, says: "Out the ruins of Brick City, NJ, comes a duo that never lost sight of the true meaning of b-boy culture. If you were able to physically chip away at the layers of the image, fraudulence and hype currently clouding hip-hop's sincerity, you would find the Artifacts, two emcees who have no problems giving real props to real hip-hop. Tame One and El The Sensei are more than just rappers; they are active participants in hip-hop's original underground society: graffiti. And as the title track suggests, when these brothers talk about writing, they don't always mean writing rhymes. So grab your black book, some fatcaps, a yard key and your favorite mop, because the Artifacts are about to take you back to the dawn of a culture."
"Finally, there is a song that does justice to the seek and destroy art of bombing. The subway excursion begins with a bubbling bassline, rumbling drums and the occasional horn as Tame tells you what he is all about: "I'm about to bomb like Vietnam under the same name Tame One / The bad one ink Flowmaster bastard with a Magnum." And just when you thought that it wouldn't get any nicer, El comes aboard to let you know that he can drop a few bombs of his own at the lyrical lay-up: "Avoid the crowds that want to stab me in the back / Enough of that / Watch the third rail track 'cause I don't wanna get zapped." Backed up with solid production, there is little doubt that the lyrical burners of these vandals will soon reach all-city status ... it is clear that Artifacts marks the true return of the B-Boy." Catch the visuals for the track & OG postcards above, full review below.
