So, tell me if you heard this one before: This is a story about a rapper who was fucked over by the industry. Thought so.
OK, so first there was this dude called Marley Marl. He was a DJ. He was from Queensbridge. He rolled with a bunch of rappers from there. To name a few: MC Shan, Craig G, MC Poet (nka Blaq Poet) and Tragedy. That last dude influenced a lot of similar-minded QB MCs, including one who called himself Nas. That last dude would release his debut, Illmatic, in 1994. It would cause many perfectly sane people who are either fans of hip hop music or contributors to that very genre to lose their shit on a regular basis at exactly how good it was as far as albums go. On that hip hop landmark, Nas would write a song called One Love, produced by Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest, which would be imitated to the end of time, as it's basically a letter to incarcerated loved ones. Nas drops a line in One Love that goes: 'What up with Cormega? Did you see him? Are y'all together?
Naturally, back then nobody knew who this Cormega person was. So, hip hop nerds went crazy looking for any info on him. Turned out that a dude who went by the name Cory McKay did some pretty impressive spitshine-cleaning in various grocery stores as Cormega. The store owner told him not to spitshine the vegetables numerous times, but Cormega McKay absolutely insisted on doing so. 'What would I tell Mommy?' was his excuse. So, the store owner fired little Cormy and kicked him out in the street, telling him in a fit of anger to go be someone useless, like a rapper or something.
Little did he know.
Cormy took those words to heart and began writing like crazy. Thereby appearing on DJ Hot Day's debut album, then Phd's debut album. (Phd is the aforementioned Blaq Poet's group. The first of several.) By the time the masses heard the second Cormega appearance on wax, he had become a local rap superhero. Unfortunately however, Mega got himself locked up for armed robbery and did 4 years time. The Nas shoutout was during said jail time, so by the time he was released, a shitload of people knew who he was. Naturally, the two became steadfast friends after he recognized this. They would later form a supergroup with Brooklynites AZ & Foxy Brown and call it The Firm. You know. Because mafioso stereotypes weren't rampant enough back then. The Firm, including Cory, would appear on Nas' second album, It Was Written, and later sign with a certain West Coast producer named Dr. Dre and his then-fledgling label Aftermath. In the midst of all this, Mega was signed as a solo artist to the grandaddy of all labels, Def Jam. All seemed to be good in Cormy's life.
Keyword: seemed. Following Cormy's refusal to sign a bullshit contract with Steve Stoute, Steve-O would launch an extensive campaign to blackball Mega throughout the entire industry, beginning with kicking him out of The Firm and replacing him with an MC with zero prior history with the remaining Firmmates. Some dude called Nature. Cormy blew a gasket, of course. So much so that it affected his own solo deal with Def Jam in the middle of his solo debut album's crafting process. By the time he finished it and called it The Testament, his relationship with Def Jam and his then-manager, the late Chris Lighty, had soured irreparably. Def Jam then gave him his second kickout in his career and shelved his intended debut. All seemed to be over in Cormy's career life.
Keyword: seemed. Mega would gather his act together, found an independent label called Legal Hustle, release his 2nd debut The Realness and become one of the forefathers of the fledgling hip hop independent scene, and would establish a career that is still going pretty damn strong now. He would find enough success to enable him to buy his original shelved debut and release it in its unaltered form. These types of albums usually come with much fanfare, and truthfully? Not all of it's justified. You're reading this review to see if this album earns it, though. Am I right or am I right? Thought so.
I must confess: My love for Nas' artistic output so far has initially caused me to dislike Cormega. But, after listening to his numerous collabs with people such as Large Professor & the Wu, I gradually warmed up to his work. I officially became a fan of his when I heard his album Born & Raised. He has simply grown so much as an MC during his career. Add that with the fact that, while not perfect, he has a fairly good ear for beats.
What better place to start diving into this dude's material than his debut? It's readily available, so it shouldn't be a problem if you decide it's worth your time. Let's go.
INTRO
Cormy starts his tradition of opening up albums with rhymes to an instrumental with no beat here. Cory is, without question, one of the better writers of introspective rhymes. As such, this was when he still didn't have a good grip on that aspect of his lyrics, so this falls flat.
62 PICKUP
Cormy starts his career out with a beat produced by himself? Pretty risky. Unfortunately it doesn't pay off as his one-verse wonder, while sound, doesn't mesh with the whimsical beat at all. The waste of good lyrics will only annoy you. I know it did me.
ONE LOVE
RNS, a Wu-Tang affiliated producer, backs Mega's reply to Nas' shoutout with a decent instrumental. You knew Cormy was gonna write this, obviously. And honestly, it speaks volumes about the depth of Nas and Mega's on-off friendship that he still kept this on his album, even though they were beefing at the time. Plus, the rhymes on here match Nas' original extremely well. I loved this song.
INTERLUDE
Cormy also starts his tradition of acapella verses here. Unlike some of his later iterations, this was pretentious as all fuck.
ANGEL DUST (FEATURING HAVOC)
Featuring Havoc as a rapper on a song he didn't produce completely mystifies me. Especially when he's relegated to hook duties. Furthermore, having Prodigy shout Mega out uncredited adds only to the frustration, which should be settling in quite nicely as you're reading this. However, Sha Money XL (whom I never knew was a producer, in all honesty) brings our host a cinematic beat that would've fit on The Infamous & Hell On Earth, and Cory definitely adds to the comparison by spitting thuggery that would've fit perfectly on said albums, as well. This wasn't bad. I honestly feel like he's pushing the limits to what he can do with mafioso imagery, though. He needs a concept, fast.
DEAD MAN WALKING
Right on cue! This was one of Mega's best-known songs, simply for the fact that he actually performed it regularly live back in 1998 on the Survival Of The Illest tour with DMX, Onyx & Def Squad. This song is a classic hip hop revenge tale with the details interwoven by Mega making this song a must-hear. It doesn't hurt that the instrumental by DJ Hot Day & Jae Supreme fits the rhymes like a glove. This was intense.
MONTANA DIARY
A continuation of Angel Dust. And this time, the hook ruins the entire song. I told you Mega was running out of gas.
TESTAMENT
Or is he? This Dave Atkinson production bangs appropriately in a way we haven't heard yet on this album so far, and it influences Cormy to step up his imagery & flow schemes to admirable heights. Nicely done, indeed. By the way, this version of the song does not contain any type of diss towards Nas. It's pretty damn annoying to see people interpret lyrics that were never intended to mean anything because of simple personal agendas.
TESTAMENT (ORIGINAL)
This is the version Nas haters should be looking for, as it contains a brief-yet-clear dig at Mega's former friend. The beat and many of the rhymes are the same, though.
EVERY HOOD (FEATURING HUSSEIN FATAL)
Even though Cory's first verse is scorching hot, everything else about this song's execution is absolutely repulsive. No matter how much you try, Cormy. If you don't have chemistry with another rapper, you just don't. Stop trying to force that shit down my fucking throat. All joking aside, RIP Hussein Fatal. My deepest condolences go out to his family & friends.
COCO BUTTER
An even worse song where Cormy's feeble attempt at love-rapping falls flat on its hideous, Deadpool-ugly-ass face once he decides to compare his infatuation with a certain boo to various drug-dealing imagery. Fuck this song.
KILLAZ THEME (FEATURING MOBB DEEP)
Many Mobb Deep & Cormega fans are already familiar with this song. Doesn't change the fact that this song is trademark Mobb Deep in its awesomeness. Many fans also know that the Mobb & Cormy were confused between this song and Mobb Deep's What's Ya Poison as to who would take which song. I wish the Mobb would've taken this song, because I feel it's a better showcase for Prodigy, while What's Ya Poison showcases Mega better.
LOVE IS LOVE
This composition by Nashiem Myrick, sampling the same exquisite Ohio Players song as Killah Priest's overrated B.I.B.L.E., brings out a side in Cormega that would be very thoroughly and beautifully fleshed out later in his career: Introspection regarding hood life. Whether it be the innocent, the dealers and people who share his current position in life, Cormega drops jewels in a way that has since made fans out of absolute legends such as the late Guru, Chuck D & PMD of EPMD, among many more. And with good reason, too, as his rhymes here are brilliant. This was a highlight, no fucking doubt.
DEAD MAN WALKING (REMIX)
Utilizing a slightly different take on the same beat as the original, Cormega presents to the listener the sequel to this story. He describes going to his victim's funeral and the thoughts going through his head while doing so. The attention to detail matches, if not eclipses, the original, which is pretty awesome. And we're done.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Obviously, Mega shows without question that he's an MC of talent. However, it's my belief that had this album been released on its intended 1998 date, Cormy's career would still be the exact same as it is now. The album as it stands is pretty hit or miss, as would be the case for most of Cory's subsequent releases. The highs, however, are definitely must-hears. Mega reaches heights that can only be reached by MCs who deserve to be called such. Even some of the bad songs that aren't worth your time aren't horrendously bad. That classification only fits two songs here.
WORTH IT? Pretty much. You are guaranteed more than a few songs of sheer enjoyment, and most of the rest won't truly piss you off. The album is worthy of being in your collection. You still don't want it? Then why in the fuck did you read the whole goddamn review?! Go spread your negative energy somewhere else, it's not welcome here. What do you mean, I'm being negative too? Are you crazy?
For more Cormega, check here.
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