Muggs Presents the Soul Assassins, Chapter 1 [LP]

In hip-hop, a good DJ/producer needs to be able to pull double-duty: create a surrounding congruous to the vocalist's style and content, and simultaneously bring his own sonic stamp to the proceedings. Muggs, who earned much respect building ganja-drenched soundscapes for Cypress Hill, succeeds at both on his SOUL ASSASSINS compilation. His minimalist backdrops unite these 12 twelve tracks performed by a veritable "who's who" of the hip-hop nation circa '96-'97. On "Puppet Master," Dr. Dre's duet with Cypress Hill's B-Real, Muggs loops a shrill piano figure and goes into a scratch frenzy for much of the verses, and drops eerie carnival samples throughout. On KRS-One's old-school-style "Move Ahead," horns bleat and beats become bigger and deffer as though it were still 1985.
Nothing proves Muggs' ability to draw a picture around rappers as well as "Third World," his collaboration with Wu-Tang's GZA/Genius and RZA. A minor-key piano loop leads the Genius down a dark alley, where machine-gun fire explodes; and then a variety of found sounds place both men at a crossroads that sounds like a modern-day variation of Robert Johnson signing his infamous pact.