Rating:
  Review Date: January 19, 2009
  Website: Kats & Domer Website
  Label: Independent

Kats & Domer “Almost Famless Vol. 2″ Mixtape Review
What do you get when you take a handful of underground rappers in New York City, mix in a couple local beat makers, and scatter them throughout a ten-track compilation album? Well, you get the “Almost Fameless Mixtape Vol. 2” – and boy is it worth the free download. Kats & Domer’s project is one of my favorite albums in a while – and I normally don’t even fuck with mixtapes!

Why I Like This Album:

1. Guest spots. Although the concept of this album was created by Brooklyn emcees Kats and Domer, it features many local underground hip-hop artists. Each guest emcee is unique, and each guest emcee shines. Folklore and Illspokinn both spit fire on The Bellamy; Renaissance articulates a great verse and makes the chorus on Behind; Ryan O’Neil kills it on Here Now; Jake Lefco drops two dope verses in Day by Day and Weekend Lover; RabbiD makes a statement in Never Enough; ScholarMan does what ScholarMan do on my personal favorite The Truth; and brokeMC and Bisc1 seem to close the album out perfectly with Classic Rock.

2. This is feel good hip-hop. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m getting a little tired of all the overly-conscious hip-hop I been getting lately. I need a little fun shit now and then also! While Kats & Domer’s “Almost Fameless Mixtape Vol. 2” contains a lot of conscious and introspective verses and topics, the overall vibe of this album is good, old-fashioned, rhyme-spitting fun. For the past week, I’ve been that dude on the train laughing hysterically at the contents of his iPod while everyone watches bewildered. This album has fit in perfectly with the type of hip-hop I need to hear right now, and I’ve been unable to take it out of my rotation for over a week now.

3. I know these cats. I know some motherfuckers are going to call foul on this one, as if I would ever jeopardize the credibility of my site by posting shit just because I knew somebody. But if you frequent the NYC underground hip-hop scene, it’s difficult to not run into most of these emcees from time to time. I see many of these cats at weekend shows, and we often find ourselves drinking brews, taking shots of tequila, or tokin’ a spliff after shows. And when you get to build with artists, it often breeds a better understanding of and appreciation for their music.

For example, when Kats drops the first verse on The Truth, many people might not get what he’s talking about. But because we built at a show recently, and I recall him talking about how he quit his job as a school teacher, I was able to understand and appreciate the following verse better:

I gotta network ‘cause my net worth just isn’t sufficient/
I gotta push through and improve my existent conditions/
What these kids are missing is parents at home to teach them/
That’s easy to say, but some parents don’t know how to reach them/
That leaves them to teachers in public schools struggling daily/
And nah, I ain’t mad at all of the trouble you gave me/
My troublesome babies becoming young men and young ladies/
Going through changes, doing 180s like crazy/
It made me remember myself at that age – what a mess/
My greatest stress wasn’t test but the opposite sex/
Sloppily dressed, couple of hairs popping out of my chest/
Dreaming of copping a feel, eyes popping for breasts/
But I digress, my guess is we’re all doomed/
All consumed by our own views, but it’s all good/
So confused, so exhausted from so many rules/
So stressed, I’ll be so impressed if you showed me the truth/

Another good example is in recent HHL quotable of the week Weekend Lover. If I would’ve heard anyone else drop this verse, I might think they were bullshitting just trying to tell a funny or amusing story. But because I’ve seen the manner in which Domer interacts with ladies at many a show, I can definitely see this happening:

I met this career girl and tried to befriend her/
‘Cause she was making mad dough and had no time to spend it/
And she thinks she needs someone to bring some fun in her life/
And I’m like, ‘New friend relax, this is what I do best,’ right?/
So okay yo I’ll play the role, it isn’t too bad/
I can take you out to dinner if you pick up the tab/
She liked my music but I griped my tools are old and useless/
So she’d throw me dough to go and cop the dopest new shit/
Well thanks baby, I really appreciate it/
I keep my shows on the weekends ‘cause weeknights she can’t make it/
And that’s fine with me, I don’t mind being in a nice piece on the Upper East/
Sippin’ a glass of iced tea and flippin’ around on her widescreen/
But after a while she’s all, ‘Why don’t you get motivated?/
I could get you a job,’ and I’m like, ‘Fuck that you know I’ll hate it’/
So she broke it off clean said the hope was lost for me/
But I stay optimistic for the next chick who’s wallet’s deep/

4. It’s FREE! I hate to take it there, but in case you haven’t been keeping tabs, the economy is fucked up right now dogg! Motherfuckers are out of work and broke. So you throw them an album with all the characteristics listed above, something both fun and entertaining – AND put it up for free download –you’re probably going to get my vote. And even if you don’t agree, at least you didn’t pay for it, right?

Overall: Download this shit man! What have you got to lose? It will make you bob your head, smile, laugh at times, and introduce you to some of the best of the NYC underground. Favorite tracks include The Truth, The Bellamy, Weekend Lover, Behind, The Flood, and Classic Rock. Peace.

Album Track Listing:

1. Day By Day (ft.JakeLefco)
2. The Bellamy (ft.Folklore & Illspokinn)
3. Behind (ft.Renaissance)
4. Here Now (ft.Ryan O’Neil)
5. Weekend Lover (ft.JakeLefco)
6. Never Enough (ft.RabbiD)
7. The Flood
8. It Ain’t Nothin’
9. The Truth (ft.Scholarman)
10. Classic Rock (ft.brokeMC & Bisc1)