Los Angeles emcee/producer A-F-R-O teaming up with Boston, Massachusetts underground veteran Stu Bangas for his proper full-length debut studio album. A protege of R.A. the Rugged Man after winning the Definition of a Rap Flow contest, his Duck Down Music Inc.-backed 5th EP A-F-R-O Polo produced by Marco Polo introduced himself as a promising up-&-comer within the underground. I got to cover his self-produced 9th EP The Drawing Board earlier this spring & while thought that it was his best work yet, The Bad & the Ugly: The Goods Always Die First surely had more than enough potential to top it.

“Hip Hop Tournament” starts with a horn-inflicted boom bap instrumental addressing those who wanna battle him whereas “Bring Ya Best Army” brings an uncanny atmosphere to the table keeping it raw talking about his opposition bringing the best out of their arsenal. “Lost Souls” works in more kicks & snares to discuss the titular kind of people wandering around his parts just before “From Dusk ‘Till Dawn” featuring Lil D ruggedly talks about being unstoppable.

Moving on from there, “Pay Attention” maintains a boom bap edge advising y’all to actively listen to him very carefully as he shows how it’s done leading into “Hallucinogenz” sampling a bit of psychedelic rock with nothing on the mind but the dimesack. “Story of a Scumbag” grimly gets in his storytelling bag discussing a young kid with a cold heart prior to “Eyes Closed” boasting that he could do this shit in his sleep.

“Breakadawn” featuring Horror City & Motion+ nears the conclusion of The Bad & the Ugly: The Goods Always Die First by linking the trio up promising that they’ll always keep it moving prior to “Run 4 Ya Life!” rounding things out in the form of this murderous closer advising for everyone listening to bring a pen & a mic instead of a gun clarifying that your demise will be a good time for him.

For over a decade, I’ve always felt that A-F-R-O had more than enough potential to make a classic studio LP someday & it finally happened on Halloween wiping almost everything else that he’s done up until this point. The features are just ok, but Stu Bangas’ production top to bottom reveals itself to be a great match for  A-F-R-O’s cutthroat lyricism.

Score: 9/10

Source: UndergroundHipHopBlog.com