In the interest of hip-hop supergroups, three Battle Axe Warriors come together as Code Name: Scorpion. Longtime west coast underground hero and Project Blowed emcee, Abstract Rude, joins with ½ of Swollen Members, Prevail, and the hardest working man in indy hip-hop, Moka Only.

Twelve tracks deep, the album is at its best when Rob The Viking takes control of the boards, and each of the members share the verses.  As evidenced on tracks like “Smokin’ In Here”, “Rifle Association”, and “And That You Can Quote”, Rob’s dark Alchemist  influenced basslines and pianos, propels the three emcess to shine their brightest - each one complimenting each other as they trade mics. Rob and the crew’s other collaborative standouts include “To Make Millions”, (featuring a show stealing verse from Madchild), a sensible anthem that proves they can be paid and still have a whole lot of respect; Not to mention, “She’s Always Right”, which is perhaps the album’s best track, as the three discuss their lady problems, pulling the listener in with it’s infectious hook: “She’s always right / we fuss and break up / we argue fight and fuck to make up / If something seems wrong she don’t say what / And even if she strikes me first I can’t touch / You gotta love it / Though we never get to the bottom of it / It’s like dealing with an alcoholic / when we drunk off love we just can’t call it / And when we smoked off bud then we both frolic.”

The album’s only faults are that, at times, it goes off into separate directions, almost defeating the purpose of being a group project. Solo efforts from Abby Rude and Prev may seem excusable, but considering that Moka Only has dropped three albums in the last year, (not including this one), when he takes the spotlight on solo tracks like “Way Out”, “Pillow Fulla Scrilla” and “Get What You Get”, this sounds less like a group project, and more like another Moka Only album - which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes less is more.

Another factor that might have made this album a bit stronger is if Rob The Viking produced had the entire project, which would have given it a more cohesive feel. While the crew still tears through the Moka Only produced “Get Stung” (watch for Prevail’s excellent Aceyalone impression), the album would have been a tighter package if they put their confidence in one producer.

It remains a mystery as to why these three came together - whether to unify their separate fanclubs, or simply to perform a one-album experiment. Either way, the end result is positive, and could be even stronger if they ironed out the kinks next time around.