Normally, the word "Rock" brings to mind the dynasty that Jay-Z built: the R-O-C. This time around, however, we aren't talking about the guys who throw up the diamond signs. A few months back, you may have heard of a famous rapper from the '90s that caught an attempted murder charge. Sound familiar? Well, that emcee is Rock. All you late '90s babies may never have heard of Boot Camp Clik or Heltah Skeltah -- if you haven't, this is the perfect introduction. Rock is back with his grizzly vocals and Rotten Apple swagger on Shell Shock. A mixtape style album, packaged as just that, an album with a barcode and everything. Go figure.
"ShellShock Intro" kicks off the project with an overwhelmingly dark tone. The strings sound like a chase scene in a Michael Myers thriller, as Rock proclaims himself king over the twisted '70s sample. On "300 B.C.," Rock and Buckshot, who happens to sound just like Juelz Santana on this record, take Fat Joe's "300 Brolic" instrumental and dissect it. Everything about this joint is a match. Buckshot's monotone voice texture and Rock's scratchy vocals blend together well and form a recipe for success.
In hip-hop's current climate, you may hear a lot of rappers (especially from the East Coast) calling for unity. Rock does the opposite on the clever and candid "NY Gritty." Any tourists that are planning to visit the Mecca of Hip-Hop may not want to listen to this song. The descriptions of the screw faces, robberies, cold weather, Timb boots, and that "hate is the new love" mentality, may seem far-fetched, but it's actually not far from the truth.
Other songs on the record are half and half. "Late Nite" and "Ramadan" are decent lyrically, but fail to match the execution of some of the better songs on the record. One such record is "Temp Murda." The Rockness Monster jacks Snoop's classic "Murder Was The Case" instrumental and speaks on his own attempted murder charges. The Brooklynite declares that he "writes rhymes on the back of an order of protection / while staring in a mirror with no reflection."
Rock solidified a decent comeback, with the release of Shell Shock, though it has plenty of devotion, there was not much on the promotion front. The quality of some songs sound like they were recorded on a '97 DJ Clue mixtape, while lyrically, Rock is as sharp as ever. If this is the first of many mixtapes to come from Rock, then a Heltah Skeltah revival may happen sooner than later.
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