Violent J is a 50 year old MC, producer & former wrestler from Detroit, Michigan notable for forming the Insane Clown Posse & co-founding the label that runs beneath the streets Psychopathic Records with Shaggy 2 Dope. He’s also released a few EPs & a full-length on his own within the last 3 decades, with my personal favorite of the handful being Wizard of the Hood. The last we heard from the Duke of the Wicked solo-wise was the Brother! EP on New Year’s Eve 2018, but J is making up for the 3-month delay of his sophomore solo album by giving it to the fans as a Juggalo Day treat.

The intro is an occult trap opener produced by Devereaux with J confessing he doesn’t want to be alive anymore whereas the title track gives me a more slower albeit still morbid approach to the beat thanks to Brian Kuma talking about a never ending cycle. “Clown Blood” returns to trap territory with J showing off some crazy flows as he describes the clown blood flowing through him leading into “In the Hole” blending some hi-hats & synths talking about where your soul will suffer.

Meanwhile on “Pitch Dark”, we have J over a more rugged instrumental describing total blackness just before “No Friends” is a decent guitar ballad about being friendless. “Scatterbrain 2” is a trap-flavored sequel to “Scatterbrain” which has always been one of the best songs off Eye of the Storm in my opinion & picks up where the predecessor left off wonderfully, but then Mike E. Clark returns to lace “The Stiff” with his uniquely quirky sound asking if he made a friend until the end or fucked up again.

The beat switches throughout the self-produced “Horrendous Ways” are all well timed as the Duke of the Wicked asking why great lives end in the titular fashion while “Something’s in My Room” takes a turn into boom bap describing the titular being in his room staring at him. The song “The Hurter” has a more carnivalesque flare to the instrumental courtesy of Shaggytheairhead describing the titular character while the penultimate track “A Harrowing Time” is a bassy trap cut about Satan calling him. “Some Good Pussy” though ends the album with a shitty country rock ballad about a man being unhealthily obsessed with a bitch.

Wizard of the Hood is such a classic EP & I know The Shining gets a bit of mixed reception with a lot of juggalos that I know personally, but it’s most certainly no question that Bloody Sunday stands as Violent J’s finest solo album to date. It’s a lot more darker than the previous efforts that he’s put out on his own, he sounds focused & the production is a healthy mix of both the old & new sounds throughout the 3 decades that he’s been in the game.

Score: 8/10

Source: UndergroundHipHopBlog.com