Search - New Kingdom :: Paradise Don't Come Cheap

Another diamond in the hip hop rubble

Campbell Roark | from under the floorboards and through the woods.. | 06/15/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What the hell is this *ish*?!!?! I have no idea who these guys are or what planet they hail from but this CD is some of the thickest, grittiest, most surreal-ass fohnkeh hip hop you are likely to ever have droppped on you like the proverbial cartoon piano/anvil gene-spliced hybrid..."We arrive on you shores, like con-quest-a-doors..."Shards of distortion, warped bluuesy wailing guitars, little odd knickknacks, fuzzed-out boomin bass lines, sinsister organs with venom dripping from the keys and more fat beats than you could ever plumb the depths of.... Their lyrics are ominous and at times senseless, random and circuitous, bizare, referencing whatever comes into the MC's mind- be it the muppets or enlightenment or Bruce Lee... this is like recalling the worst trip you ever had, but an experience you wouldn't trade for nothing... I just can't say enough about this. So much hip hop is just stupid and shallow. This is The Funk beamed back to us through the headlights of the dark matter mothership. She's comin ever closer... "Animal was my favorite drumma, I couldn't get Kurt off my mind that summa, I lay in a tent in the middle of a big ole garage my mind ain't nothin but big ole collage, kids, come a little closer- once had a poster: Jimi Hendrix on a horse with a pistol and a holster..." You dig... it just gets nuttier from there.If you dig the early Cypress Hill stuff and the Beasties middle period stuff then you should just pick up a used copy of this. Production wise it reminds one of Cypress HIll's first one. Their other CD "heavy Load" is good too, but more starightforward- not as out there. This album is genius. All tracks- SOLID."

Great album. Great group. Wish more stuff was like this.

Ty N Cobb | 02/23/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"New Kingdom are one of my favorite groups. This album sounds heavier, and noisier, and weirder than the first, and it's great. If I had to compare it, I'd say it is similar to Beastie Boys "Check Your Head", but I don't often listen to "Check..." while I listen to "Paradise..." almost every day. There have been a lot of groups that supposedly blend hip-hop and rock elements,and I was disappointed with about all of them, but to me New Kingdom stands out. They are hard without sounding metal. They have a definite hip-hop musical base, and they are weird without sounding TOO weird. I recommend them for anyone who wants to hear hip-hop based music which is just way out there."

LIVE THIS ALBUM. truely a classic that will never be heard!

Ty N Cobb | brooklyn,nyc | 11/17/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am 28 and have listened to hip-hop since I was 7, this is an awesome album!!!!!I first heard of N.K. when I saw them perform at a South By Southwest in '95. They would not stop playing, and nobody wanted them to. The sound man had to pull the power! Pure genius is harldly recognized w/ todays musical industry ways of bizzness, no wonder you've never heard of New Kingdom. If they had britt.spears' agent most mainstream rap would be crippled."