It had been four long years since their now-classic debut Typical Cats dropped on Chicago hip hop label Galapagos4. Successful solo projects and worldwide tours have only whetted the appetites of the legions of fans eag... more »erly anticipating the follow up. The time has come, and the Cats have a message. Attention Citizens of Hip Hop (Nation Within a Nation): We have waged a rebel resistance to that cynical enemy of the listeners and true heads the Establishment for decades now. Our enemy, fully aware that the people need beats and rhymes to live, has embarked on a campaign of sonic terrorism, flooding minds and airwaves with pollutants while grudgingly distributing real hip hop in tainted and dwindling doses. In order to combat this toxic status quo and restructure the underground network that is the last hope for our rebel tribes, we have dispatched our most highly skilled team of operatives under the code name Typical Cats. Representatives Qwel, Qwazaar, denizen kane and DJ Natural (along with special delegate Kid Knish) have spent the four years since the last restructuring effort in the field and have now been authorized to administer an emergency plan effective immediately to: 1) Eradicate the underground of the Establishment s clone minions 2) Create an infrastructure with which to bring our Movement above ground 3) Bring an end to the chaos of the warring tribes and effectively bring the disputed territories under rebel control The science of this nation-building initiative is to be distributed in a disc form entitled Civil Service. The disc will contain explicit and coded information technology capable both of disabling Establishment operatives and activating rebel representatives and stations in one precise deployment. Civil Service is a series of ongoing tasks of utmost importance to the survival and eventual victory of our nation within a nation. In a time of heightened crisis such as this, it is a form of struggle through self-government, a collective orchestration of success as we define it, and our response to the Establishment s shadow war on its own people. Citizens: Our existence has become conflict itself, and our Enemy interprets our independence as hostility. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our independence is simply an expression of humanity in a bleak and alien environment. We are fulfilling the broken promises of the Establishment. We are the architects of our future, the makers of sound. The Most loves not the boastful. Civil Service for the hopeful. Peace, the Service.« less
It had been four long years since their now-classic debut Typical Cats dropped on Chicago hip hop label Galapagos4. Successful solo projects and worldwide tours have only whetted the appetites of the legions of fans eagerly anticipating the follow up. The time has come, and the Cats have a message. Attention Citizens of Hip Hop (Nation Within a Nation): We have waged a rebel resistance to that cynical enemy of the listeners and true heads the Establishment for decades now. Our enemy, fully aware that the people need beats and rhymes to live, has embarked on a campaign of sonic terrorism, flooding minds and airwaves with pollutants while grudgingly distributing real hip hop in tainted and dwindling doses. In order to combat this toxic status quo and restructure the underground network that is the last hope for our rebel tribes, we have dispatched our most highly skilled team of operatives under the code name Typical Cats. Representatives Qwel, Qwazaar, denizen kane and DJ Natural (along with special delegate Kid Knish) have spent the four years since the last restructuring effort in the field and have now been authorized to administer an emergency plan effective immediately to: 1) Eradicate the underground of the Establishment s clone minions 2) Create an infrastructure with which to bring our Movement above ground 3) Bring an end to the chaos of the warring tribes and effectively bring the disputed territories under rebel control The science of this nation-building initiative is to be distributed in a disc form entitled Civil Service. The disc will contain explicit and coded information technology capable both of disabling Establishment operatives and activating rebel representatives and stations in one precise deployment. Civil Service is a series of ongoing tasks of utmost importance to the survival and eventual victory of our nation within a nation. In a time of heightened crisis such as this, it is a form of struggle through self-government, a collective orchestration of success as we define it, and our response to the Establishment s shadow war on its own people. Citizens: Our existence has become conflict itself, and our Enemy interprets our independence as hostility. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our independence is simply an expression of humanity in a bleak and alien environment. We are fulfilling the broken promises of the Establishment. We are the architects of our future, the makers of sound. The Most loves not the boastful. Civil Service for the hopeful. Peace, the Service.
CD Reviews
Don't sleep on this
avihotnicks | 06/09/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"the first album was a classic to me but they definitely stepped the game up on this one, especially on the production end. the straightforward razored edge styles of the 3 mc's, each powerful and refined, pushed the boundries of killing it."
Too much Denizen Kane
J.A. | Seattle, WA | 07/02/2005
(2 out of 5 stars)
"The first album was a classic, but on this album, the beats feel more organic and Denizen Kane has lame flow on just about every song. The true talents of this group are Qwel and Qwazaar and they simply aren't on this record enough to make it a worthwhile purchase like the first record. I urge you to buy "the harvest" by Qwel and Maker instead. Very disappointed that this record was such a let down"
True Hip-Hop
Happy Dunce | New Mexico | 09/04/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Typical Cats are the perfect example of what hip-hop should be.
As good as their first CD was, this one easily matches it. All three MCs deliver sick lyrics, i wasnt really feelin some of these beats a whole lot though. all in all this is an ill CD, definately recomend to any true hip-hop fan."
Beats, Rymes and Flows
JRyan427 | New York City | 09/17/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Their first album was an instant classic. Qwell, Quasar, Denizen Kane and DJ Natural have done it again. Anyone who hears this album knows it. The beats, rymes and flows are dope. The Typical Cats came with new s*#@ no one can mess with. Just listen to one of their new songs and you'll know what I talking about."
Alright probally not one of the 50 best of 2005
Chris | St.Louis,MO | 08/22/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"These dudes are really strong rappers but the beats are pretty bad and boring. They got some bad beats with some bad quality in the volume.The Lyrics are nice and the guys who specialize in freestyling are good and they have nice Flows. This album will get a 3.5 out of 5 by me because of there borderline great lyrics but the structuring-beats-and replay are mere average at best. Next time they will hook up with some dope beats.
Lyrics 8.5 Production 5 Replay 5 Entertainment 6.5"