Doap Nixon - Sour Diesel Album Review

The dark sector of Hip Hop presided over by Jedi Mind Tricks and the Army of the Pharoahs crew continues to expand with the solo debut of former AOTP member and Philadelphia veteran Doap Nixon. Lyrics promoting 'reality rap' and voicing disgust with current trends are delivered over the same style of epic operatic sound-beds as his grimy counterparts.

Doap Nixon doesn't immediately stand-out like Vinnie Paz or wow you with clever punchlines like Apathy. He does however, prove his mettle and showcase his capable emcee skills over the course of Sour Diesel, more particularly on the second half.

Following a slightly under whelming start, Sour Diesel kicks into gear on the adrenaline-rushing The Wait Is Over. It could very well be the fact that the track possesses a tremendous beat courtesy of Stu Bangas or because Reef the Lost Cauze and Vinnie Paz drop by to deliver highly memorable verses, either way it forces Doap to step up his skills, thus making it one of the album's main highlights. All three performances are memorable but once again, despite his delivery sounding the same for the last few years now, the 'Pazmanian devil' steals the show with a decidedly tasteless punchline: "Ayo Doap cousin, hit 'em with the 40 Glock/make his body levitate and he can do a joint with 'Pac."

Guest appearances work to fine effect again on the effective closing cut Gangsta, which has Doap along with Demoz (doing his best Jus Allah impersonation), Planetary (of Outerspace) and the MVP once again, Reef the Lost Cauze, spitting fire over a guitar-laced concoction.

Far from a guest-ridden compilation, Nixon has the opportunity to go for dolo and display his talents on the cinematic chipmunk-chorus driven banger Everything's Changing, which is pure Army of the Pharoahs ("you spit crooked 'cause your raps don't fly straight/your flow's only really built for MySpace"). Sour Diesel's most moving track though, would have to be the personal Heaven's Calling, assisted by the unique operatic-like tones of Cynthia Holliday on the hook, as Doap laments the harsh street life in the city of brotherly love.

Like many first-timers to the album game, Doap Nixon could have benefited from trimming some of the fat from the tracklist (cutting down the 12 tracks to 10). Some of the tracks also sound unfinished or not as polished as they should be (Don't Blame Us), which makes you think that maybe a mixtape would have been a good precursor before venturing into a full length studio release.

Considering that this is his debut offering and the fact that he was one of the less visible members of AOTP, Doap Nixon has delivered a very solid album with Sour Diesel. The lack of originality and energy at times does hurt it and Doap does have some ways to go in perfecting his on-track presence, as a whole though Sour Diesel is a quality release, it's just lacking that spark.

Available through Babygrande Records

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