"Just when you thought it was safe to write Southern California off as a wasteland of gin and juiced-up hustlas and pimps, up steps Ras Kass to prove that LA has an underground with a lyrical potency and overall fervor that may soon rival New York's. This 19-year old from Carson is a part of Western Hemisfear, a rhyme collective of like-minded emcees and producers out to prove that LA rap is about a hell of a lot more than gang signs, gun boasts and Roger Troutman beats. Bolstered by fat production from crew members Vooodu and Bird, Ras rips shit in a manner that hasn't been witnessed out in those parts since Freestyle Fellowship blew up the spot a few years ago." Cont'd...
"A hardened battle-rhymer, Ras always goes for the jugular with metaphors like: "When my voice hits the mic, I electrocute Spit like Beat Street (Won't Catch Me Runnin), "I gotcha holding my dick like your name was Lorena Bobbit" and "Slappin your Left-Eye up like my man Andre Rison" (Remain Anonymous). With his penchant for the graphic matched with a sure-footed, rapid-fire, throaty delivery, Ras murders the jazzy, bottom-heavy tracks laid before his feet with dazzling verve. Backed by the slightest strands of upright jazz bass, hearty kicks and bleating horns, Bird and Vooodu provide the perfect safety net for Ras's lyrical bungee jumping. Remain Anonymous is an anthem for the underground, urging the true lyrical prophets to throw "rhetoric and repertoire, demographics and heavy rotation" to the wind in favor of keeping their lyrical styles in tact" cont'd...
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