Another in the list of incredibly dope producer albums of 2022, Virginia-based producer Krohme drops ‘The Ceremony of Innocence‘ and it’s a project that has zero skips, and keeps hip hop heads engaged from start to finish with well crafted production and top tier lyricists blessing the project. The veteran producer certainly knows what it takes to make dope beats, having produced for some of the greats like Chuck D, Kool G Rap, Nas and plenty more, and now he delivers a full length project with nothing but speaker shaking soundtracks and boom bap brilliance.
Taking out the intro, the interlude and the outro, all of which help the overall feeling of the project, we get nine pure hip hop tracks, complete with top tier emcees that have been paired uniquely and with expressive results. ‘Cursed Earth‘ features Lord Goat, Chino XL and Sleep Sinatra over an ominous and eerie track, but the trio all bring the bars and pen game creating a really solid lyrical offering, delivered differently. Thirstin Howl The 3rd and Godforbid team up on ‘Dark Water‘ for a more traditional boom bap wibe, but still has that dusty, murky undertone throughout the track, supporting the spitters as they assault the mic.
When you name a track ‘Charles Oakley‘ you know it has to be hard and heavy, and the lineup of Hell Razah, Shyheim, Myalansky and DJ Flipcyide ensure hip hop heads have plenty to digest with complex lyrical delivery over a funk-infused banger. ‘Lycans‘ is a more experimental track, pushing outside the traditional boom bap feel, to bring in some street cinema that feels ominous and intriguing. Born Unique, Double A.B and Sleep Sinatra take care of business in the booth, hitting those headphones with some quotables. The energy gets REAL too, when ‘Anti-Social‘ graces the listening gear with Chris Rivers, Kwame and Bobby J from Rockaway each adding their own imprint on the horn-laced heat rock.
‘Warriors Theme‘ is bruising with Big Twins, Otep and Sabac Red just crushing the mic with bully rap bars you don’t just hear, but you FEEL while ‘Trials x Tribulations‘ slows the energy a little to allow Ty Farris, Guilty Simpson and Hus KingPin to really get inside your cerebral with their poignant penmanship – spitting not-your-average-bars over a crisp, neck snapping number. Snook Da Crook, Bless Picasso, Raheim Supreme and Go-Go Bouncey create a really soulful, rasta-vibe having track on ‘DMV‘ which is so laid back, it could easily become a smokers anthem before the albums final track ‘Hell or High Water‘ ups the ante in terms of a posse-cut, enlisting Breeze Evahflowin, Muja Messiah, Kahlee, Cesar Comanche and L.I.F.E Long to bring their enlightened, entertaining and purposeful lyrical messaging over a really soul / lounge / funk track with horn highlight.
Bangers: Warriors Theme, Hell or High Water, Dark Water, Anti-Social, Cursed Earth
Score: 9 / 10. This is a really dope album because of the way the tracks and emcees are matched and presented. Some of the pairings are really different, and they still work together to create a killer vibe. The possee cuts are insane with each mic controller bringing their best bars and energy while Krohme curates a fantastic, authentic hip hop album from the moment you press play, and then have to press play to spin it again! If you haven’t caught this, get it into the headphones as it’s a fantastic way to spend 30+ minutes of your day.
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