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In what has become a persistent trend popularized by 50 Cent, ridiculously skilled supergroup the Weathermen are up next to jack other artist’s beats and attempt to rip them to shreds on their very own Mix CD. For those that are not familiar with the crew, it consists of some of Def(initive) Jux’ and Eastern Conference’s finest vocalists: Cage, Camu Tao, Copywrite, Jakki, Yakb@llz, Vast Aire, El-P, Breezly Brewin and Tame One.
“But hold up… Wait, wait, wait! Did you just write that my favorite crew is subscribing to this tiresome trend?! Rapping over wack-ass commercial beats?!”

Yeah, but you must not get the picture. Anyone that knows the work of these cats also knows that their usual beats are mostly dirty, rugged and noisy creations. You can’t tell me that El-P & Camu rapping over a Missy beat on ‘Missy Done Justice’ is devoid of at least a little tongue-in-cheek like humor. Same with Cage and Tame riding Baby’s ‘What Happened To That Boy’ on ‘What Happened To That Toy’, Copy, Jakki & Tame delivering their rhymes over Erick Sermon’s ‘React’ on ‘React Shun’ and Yak and Camu putting Trina’s ‘B R Right’ to good use on ‘Where I Wanna Be’. Then there’s more rugged, comfortable beats on the menu, like Nas’ ‘Made You Look’ on the brutal ‘Made You Shit Your Pants’, Ghostface’s ‘Fish’ on ‘Fried Fish’ and 50 cent getting a dose of his own medicine on ‘Columbus’, which uses his ‘Backdown’.
Simply put, the Weathermen are no joke on the mic. In the best case they put the owners of the original beats to shame, in the worst case they merely offer a worthy alternative. It must be noted though that their interpolations of the original choruses and occasional verses can get on my nerves a little bit. Some of it comes too close to slightly forced, drunken chanting.

“Okay, okay… Cool. But you mean there’s absolutely no new studio recordings on this CD?!”

No, of course not. I didn’t write that. I was just going to state that the new songs are the most satisfying part of the disc. Copywrite absolutely destroys the rowdy Przm-produced ‘10 Times’ with his trademark vicious punchlines. It’s nice to hear him switch up his flow as well, just when it was becoming a tad predictable. The RJD2 remix of the posse cut ‘5 Left In The Clip’ is a treat and so is the minimally reworked Tame track ‘Slick Talkin’, this time around assisted by the unparalleled Breezly Brewin. Sadly, Vast Aire makes only one appearance on the CD, teaming up with Camu Tao on the humorous ‘Chris Lighty’, but at least it’s a worthwile appearance. Yak’s ‘Volume’ is a nice ditty indeed, just like Camu’s ‘Gangster’ and Copy, Jakki & Camu’s anthemic ‘Mhz Over Megahertz’, which is a fierce tribute to their original group.

“Aight, you’re getting me amped now. Do you think I should cop this one?”

Hey, you told me the Weathermen is your favorite crew, right? You cannot afford to go without it then! As for other Hip Hop listeners, ‘The Conspiracy’ just might help you appreciate this truly talented crew a little more. Personally, I would have liked to hear more actual mixing going on, taking the ‘Mix CD’ label in mind. Good blends these days are hard to find and it would have given the disc a little more edge.

In conclusion, it almost goes without saying that ‘The Conspiracy’ isn’t the Weathermen’s debut album and shouldn’t be viewed as such. But as an appetizer for their actual debut, the upcoming ‘The New Left’, the CD serves it’s purpose. Tenfold.

found at trickology.com. props to loggix.