Summer is Summering at full strength down in Miami. With the summer heat comes flesh exposing summer fashion, Outdoor Festivities (preferably by a pool or body of water of some sort), and feel good summer albums which become the soundtrack of a season in your lifetime. And once again, DJ Jahbaz (aka Mr. Fox) & Folex (aka Mr. Oran Juice Jones Supa Luxe) aka QFC (Quantum Field Crew) aka The Mercy Brothers but bka JUSTICE SYSTEM are back with exactly that kind of project. On their latest offering, CASTLE HILL (THE POLO MIXTAPE), the JUSTICE SYSTEM OG’s bless us with a party rocking LP meant to keep your summertime cookouts sizzling and festive.
Listen to CASTLE HILL by JUSTICE SYSTEM here….
Once upon a time in the Mid 90s, JUSTICE SYSTEM could be found rocking New York City night clubs with a full band. This was back in the days before THE ROOTS became Hip Hop’s Favorite Live Instrument Ensemble. Back in those days you could find Folex & DJ Jahbaz rocking the mic and the crowd as the band provided the sonic back drop, and they provided the high energy call to action lyrics that kept the party people moving in the place to be. Once such place was a legendary weekly party by the name of CASTLE HILL which the band would host regularly. This album is meant to encapsulate the fun times and energy that was felt at those epic gatherings. From the Digital Audio Flyer “GATHER ROUND”, which invites us all to time travel with The Mercy Brothers to this special era in their long, eventful history. Folex, aka Mr. Jones aka Supa Luxe, explains that this album was meant to capture the hunger and youthful angst that drove the group for years, before shopping for a deal became the main focus and before attempts to please the Music Industry squeezed the fun and creativity out of the formula in the name of “Taking Their Music Career Serious”. Joints like “ANGEL SLUT” are a great time with its story of scandalous scallywags & its catchy singing sample which blends so well with the earworm hook and over the drum break every 4 bars.
The album goes in and out, from recently recorded bangers to classic recordings from the Justice System Archives which give the album that classic Rock Steady B-Boy Jam feel. Jams like “GATHER ROUND”, “ANGEL SLUT”, and the super bluesy, bare bones X Ray machine known as “CONFESSIONS”, where DJ JAHBAZ gets super open and honest about everything from breaking the heart of catholic school girls, to sharing a little too much during a “Best Man” speech he was asked to deliver at a best friend’s wedding reception. These give way to live performance recordings from the CASTLE HILL parties like “TOM FORD”, “PUT THAT RECORD ON”, “LACERATED SKIN TONE”, “DOLLAR BILL”, & the album title track which sounds like the guys were just having fun recording freestyles using the headphones as a microphone, like we used to do before we could afford studio time.
The only guests appearances on the album come from long-time family MC WHITE OWL & RHINOCEROS FUNK of GUERILLA GROVES RADIO (who gets a special shout out along with C REALITY & CUTSUPREME as DJ JAHBAZ and FOLEX’s go to Online Radio Shows for that Real and Raw on the deep album cut “RHYME TALK”). This song makes me want to work harder on getting WVCC RADIO recognized throughout the National Underground. Then you got joints like “DEUCE DEUCE” where FOLEX & JAHBAZ just have a blast rapping over the classic DOING IT IN THE PARK break, just like they used to Freestyle over classic beats at the block parties when they were making a name for themselves in the 90s. Don’t sleep, they might be OG’s, and they might be rocking over some “OLD SCHOOL” beats, but these “Mercy Brothers” keep it fresh and new every time. MR. FOX comes in with tongue work that is swifter than Crazy Legs doing 6 Step floor rock in the middle of a circle. With bars like…
“Oh Freaks Rock Me to sleep, Rock a Bye Baby/ Rock a Fly Navy fitted Cap like its all gravy/ Hop a turnstile, street hurdles colorized maybe/ Old Dog New Tricks, My Army > your Navy/”.
“The album is comprised of new studio recordings, as well as live studio performances and freestyles from a mythical weekly party called “Castle Hill” that Justice System might have hosted in NYC back in the mid-1990s. At that time, they were a teenage hip-hop band that was in reality receiving (and turning down) six-figure offers from major labels. In the years leading up to their signing with MCA Records, they spent more time on the business of entertainment than on pure entertainment itself, and in many ways the Castle Hill album is a return to innocence. It captures the freedom, fun, and flow of a group writing and recording for personal fulfillment and musical achievement, unburdened by contracts, recoupment, or the expectations of others. The album cover art features a well-worn cassette tape with a Polo sticker in the corner, something these dedicated Lo heads would have loved to do back in the day (hence the nickname “The Polo Mixtape”).”
“YO 8ch!!! What the Hell!! Who are these people?? Bro, this album is crazy. Loving the Jazz feel. It Reminds me of dead smack in the middle of Early 90s. This is the Essence! The Samples and Beats on this are lovely. Plus the song ideas are right up my alley. Love the unorthodox flows and the loops they decided to use. Man, I am renewing my Visa and coming down to build with yall down there.” – Len-Dor
Written by 8ch2Owens
Founder of Vice City Cypher, WVCC Radio, PROFRESH Publicty. With over 20 Years in South Florida’s Hip Hop Scene 8ch2Owens has carved his name into the Miami Hip Hop history books, and now uses his talents to promote the best in South Florida Indie Hip Hop and Underground Hip Hop from around the globe.
