compilation includes: seldom seen, hazidus da fly apostle, smurf, mr blackston, penhead, alterego, dayne jaxs, sean brox, nai, others.
year of release: 2000
 
You can argue that a compilation is the best, when it has the feel of an album. "Da Ambush" does have the feel of an album, what is quite likely due to all these tracks being produced by one man: Jay Allen (who offers not even one weak beat on here). At the same time however, this is not billed as a producer album, but instead the Make It Happen Entertainment puts this forward as a compilation. With the city of Harrisburg, PA being the place of origin. So mark this city on your hip hop map.
But not only the one producer concept is separating this from the big part of compilations out there. The fact that some of the artists return over and over again, also makes this a crew or friends or circle effort. And with the topics turning from the representing and styling (as done on the posse cut "Da Ambush" with everyone dropping by to kick some verses over a harsh horn orchestra sampling beat), to the often reflecting on the struggle, the conscious and the inspired, this hold more relevance than a thrown together project could ever have.

 
tracklisting
1. Intro
2. Giz, Seldom Seen, Mr. Blackston, Sean Brox, Hazidus da Fly Apostle, Smurf "Da Ambush"
3. PenHead "Who Wants To Be A Terrorist"
4. Hazidus da Fly Apostle "Poverty's Reality"
5. AlterEgo "It's On"
6. Sean Brox "Modern Day Ni$$#z"
7. Mr. Blackston "Final Exit"
8. Seldome Seen and NAI "Local Legend (Part 2)"
9. Dayne Jaxs "Touch Me To Feel Me"
10. Jon Hart "D.R.C."
11. Hazidus da Fly Apostle, Seldome Seen, Sean Brox "True And Living Proof"
12. Smurf "Pressure"
13. Seldom Seen "Make You Laugh Make You Cry"
With the most touching track being "Final Exit" by Mr. Blackston. This because it's a going deep track about suicidal thoughts. Blackston is talking about the despair in such vivid pictures, that they must come from first person experience, or maximum two steps of separation. The beat is appropriately sad, with a flute covering the chorus and vibes walking on with a lowered head. What's also an interesting aspect of this song, that Blackston calls out god, to ask him some serious questions, the divinity should answer. The name of god is again mentioned on Dayne Jaxs' "Touch Me To Feel Me", where another person speaks on his past, his near death, coming to terms with it. The struggle further discussed on the soulful "Poverty's Reality", with the conclusions not being as drastic and final though. Hazidus da Fly Apostle at the same time is one of the busier emcee on this compilation, as he's also on the track "True And Living Proof" with Seldom Seen (who's even busier) and Sean Brox, with them calling the card of men that claim to flash, but actually only have a broken light bulb.
The relevance is unintentionally enormous on "Who Wants To Be A Terrorist" by PenHead. Unintentionally because this compilation actually came out in 2000. Yes, it's that old, but yes, it's still worthy of a review now, as the music does not sound old, but still sounds good. Here Pen' spits some 'one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter' lyrics over a melancholic Allen production. The soulful beat of "Make You Laugh Make You Cry" then gives us Seldom Seen talk about a love lost, reminding us that you only miss things once they are gone. Another conceptual track is Smurf's "Pressure", as he discusses what you would do under pressure, him offering several situations for you to ponder about.
Not all is on this conscious tip though, as AlterEgo makes sure that on "It's On" he's rising the braggadocios level of the record. Seldom Seen then furthers the battling verses on "Local Legend (Part 2)", while Allen opts for a previously used sample, plus Naisha 'NAI' Bates added her singing to this song. Plus there's the previously mentioned crew effort "Da Ambush", with the whole massive crowding themselves on the few minutes. Further Sean Brox gives us a tale of movie proportions, including a suitcase and an airplane on "Modern Day Ni$$#z".
Living up to the mantra of Make It Happen, Jon Hart, one of the men behind this project, takes the responsibility to share his thoughts on "D.R.C.", speaking some wisdom on 'music' and 'business', and pointing out the fact that 'music business' is not one word. We can thank the man for dropping these jewels, but we should also thank the man for going out and putting together this compilation. That's full of true topics, full of real thought, real people and full of good tracks. There's not even a glitch on here. This is truly an ambush, because we definitely didn't saw it coming and it won us over with ease.
review: tadah
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