With a title that would make KRS-ONE proud, Kentucky emcee Devine Carama and Brooklyn-born producer Amadeus360 have returned with a sequel to their 2025 collaborative album “Guardians of the Boom Bap”. Upon a few listens to the sequel in full, it’s clear that “Guardians of the Boom Bap 2” is something of a concept album in the same vein as 38 Spesh’s 2019 album “1994”: Crafting beats by sampling classic hip-hop tracks of the Golden era and a little beyond. But unlike Spesh, DC and Amadeus didn’t create a compilation of tracks with each one having a guest appearance. Of the fifteen tracks, only four feature guest rappers. Musically, Amadeus is a student of the game, adding his own spin on timeless classics without replicating them. Lyrically, though Devine Carama is from Lexington, KY, he’s got the delivery, flow, and cadence of an NYC rapper. That’s not to say that this takes away from DC’s abilities as emcee, but rather that it allows him to work seamlessly with Amadeus.
Opening with “Old School, New School” which features RUN-DMC vocals as well as a looped sample and drum programming reminiscent of DJ Premier. DC attacks the beat with both a passion and a cadence like Big L’s. On “CDs & Tapes”, DC gives a graphic description of the thrill of physical media. Though digital music has mostly had the market cornered for the past two decades, there’s still a sub-culture of people who seek and purchase CDs, for both the collection aspect and for the experiences DC vividly conveys. It’s less than two minutes and could’ve benefitted from a second verse with commentary on the current state of physical music. The Mobb Deep-esque “Step Ya Bars Up” is pure braggadocio laced with wordplay and battle rhymes. Buffalo’s very own Ché Noir grabs the mic for the second verse, giving bars “food for thought like a commissary.” The spirit of Big L’s “The Enemy” is spread all over “I’m Legit Now”, a murky production with DC channeling Lamont Coleman in his verses.
“The Chosen One” has a lush production and social commentary in the lyrics with “Sometimes I wonder if this world is real / You get canceled if you speak against Israel.” A Tribe Called Quest gets love on this album twice beginning with “Marauders at Midnight”, in which DC gives nods to different facets of hip-hop music and the culture. The Black Moon flip on “I Got the Props” is one of the best productions on the album, meshing well with DC’s hardcore boasts in his rhymes. Dell-P & Neek the Exotic make appearances on “Fakin’ the Funk”, adding slick punchlines alongside DC as all three expose faux emcees.
“Watch Me” contains a looped piano sample and vocal samples comprising the hook. DC poignantly states that “Hip-hop’s alive, but its wellness is lacking / Boom-bap’s the perfect life-changing health tactic.” “Hard As Hell” begins with a playful loop before the drums drop. After which, DC demonstrates tricks up his sleeve in his repertoire as an emcee, having a faculty for alliterative internal rhymes coming from all sides. Rasheed Chappell provides a verse on “You Got Me Mesmorized”, adding his nasal flow over the “Electric Relaxation”-inspired beat. “Masters of the Universe” is an enthralling track. With boom-bap snares, a moody atmosphere, and pop culture references, Amadeus incorporated samples from the 1980s animated series “Master of the Universe” with He-Man’s catchphrase “I HAVE THE POWER!!!” sprinkled in throughout the track:
Before the beat dropped in “Feelmatic”, the opening piano sample sounds almost the same as the one from Nas’ “The World Is Yours”. Nevertheless, DC aims to target weak artists of his era to get them gone. On “Complex Simplicity”, DC breaks things down with dictionaries and phrase books in bait-&-switch fashion. Making use of compound rhymes, DC ultimately describes himself simple, yet complex to the point where he ceases his second verse in the middle of it, saying its “too complex”. Planet Asia lends a hand on the closing track “The 5th Element”, adding his deep gravelly voice to his verse and the hook alongside DC. Conceptually, the track adds another component to hip-hop: Knowledge of its origins. In conclusion, “Guardians of the Boom Bap 2” is a solid listen. It doesn’t follow the trend of rappers trying to give hip-hop mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or declaring it dead on arrival. The message I drew from the album is that for all who think hip-hop is dead, it’s not. You just have to know where to look for it.