World Domination
label: statik

producers: debris, flak, suffa, simplex.

guests: flee, hilltop hoods, blockade, mic lez, others.
year of release: 2002
Anyone who might be worried that mongrels of the cross bred variety have their sights set on world domination can sleep easy as yet. This nine track EP-slash-album doesn't quite put the Mongrels in a position to take over anything, let alone a planet, although maybe there's an ironic point being made somewhere…
What these nine tracks do succeed in doing is introducing us to the duo of Debris and Flak, and a host of their friends, all from a land down under. And therein lies the initial rub. The pseudo-ominous orchestration of the opening track "World Domination", and Flak's scratching over it, prepares us for a potentially interesting listen. But then the vocal comes in, and the presence of Debris' thick Australian twang and simplistic rhyming couplets make it all a little difficult to take seriously.

tracklisting
1. World Domination
2. All Australian feat. Flee
3. Try Hards feat. Jodes & Hau
4. Agitated Dingoes feat. Blockade, Kollaps, Flee
5. Rock The Party feat. Jodes
6. Certified Wise feat. Trauma, EXP, Mic Lez, Simplex
7. Still Underrated feat. Hilltop Hoods
8. False Identity
9. Gone Too Far feat. Jodes
Debris at one point calls out rappers who put on accents, saying that they should "rhyme how they talk" - as he very clearly does - and he does make a worthy point, although his own voice is at times hard to take. However, it's not so much his accent that puts you off his rhyming, as his lyrics and flow. While Debris is able to quite competently make references to Hip Hop history, covering everyone from Ice Cube to KRS One to Kurious Jorge, he is outshone flow-wise by literally everybody else who steps to the mic throughout the nine tracks. To add to his shortcomings, the vast majority of his lyrics are aimed at other mediocre rappers who might seek to "diss Flak and Debris", and this just seems to suggest that he doesn't really have much to say.
Where The Mongrels are at their strongest is their production; from the reggae/dub feel of "Try Hards" (featuring Jodes & Hau, produced by Debris & Flak) to the sixties-sounding-guitar loop of "Gone Too Far" (featuring Jodes, produced by Debris & Flak), they are able to produce varied and upbeat tracks that may not scream innovation, but keep the album moving nicely. Other tracks on the album are produced by Suffra and Simplex, whose productions fit cleanly in with the vibes of The Mongrels' own offerings, giving all nine tracks a good sense of continuance.
With all this in mind, The Mongrels aren't quite yet poised to conquer the earth, although they are beginning to let the world know that an underground Hip Hop scene exists is the southern hemisphere, and there is certainly some talent to be found there - both among producers (all of the above-mentioned) and rappers (Hilltop Hoods and Flee probably sit at the top of the pile on this album).
My two suggestions would be that perhaps Debris should stick to being behind the boards, and perhaps The Mongrels need to set themselves a slightly more realistic target than the entire world. You gotta give 'em props for aiming high though.
review: cornerstone
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