Latest out the gate from the Def Jux stable is MHz (MegaHertz)’s Camu Tao, along with fellow Ohio rhyme merchant, Metro, who team-up to form S.A. Smash for Smashy Trashy, which is described as a party record that brings it back to the days of The Alkaholiks with “all of the rowdy-rowdy, none of the bling-bling”. While press-releases and one-sheets have penned this release into something heads can already relate to, it can better be described as the latest in a series of genre-bending Def Jux releases, but one that unfortunately isn’t up to par with its predecessors.  

     Camu-Tao is no stranger to the underground scene – he blazed up mics for years alongside fellow Mhz crew-members Copywrite, Jakki Tha MotaMouth, and RJD2, and most recently caught critical success with The Nighthawks album, a conceptual “bad cop thrill ride”, with Cage. Unlike the Nighthawks album, S.A. Smash’s Smashy Trashy is less conceptual, and the Alkaholiks comparisons only stand-true in the fact that this in-fact a drunken romp over 17 tracks. But as Camu and Metro play the S.A. Smash brothers, they come off like two intoxicated demons who want to fuck, drink beer, and smoke some shit, with comparisons in personality matching closer to Juju and Psycho Les than J-Ro and Tash.

    But sadly this lacks the classic sound of ‘Liks or ‘Nuts albums, and it’s hard to pinpoint if that’s because of the production, or the two of them lyrically aren’t bringing out the best in the beats. However, the Def Jukie roll call spices things up - peep El-P’s “Illy”, a groovy, moving little beat that could actually get some spins in the club. The ever improving Blockhead chimes in with the sleezy “I Love To Fuck” featuring a boner-waving Aesop Rock, picking up right were “Happy Pills” left off. Meanwhile, “Slide On ‘Em (Escapade)” w/ Vast Aire is another dope collabo, thanks to Camu’s multi-layered production. 

    There are tracks on this album without any famous guest appearances that will eventually grow to the listener’s liking, such as “Weird” packing a ridiculous beat by Ese and Hipsta  and an infectious hook from the Smash Brothers; the jungle rhythms of the sloppy-drunk anthem “Get Home”; or the Przm produced selections “I Know What Your Thinking” and “Jerseyed Out”, both packing strange but funky beats.  However, don’t look for any super-lyrical gems on any of these tracks, just lots of drunk-ramblings on, and an occasional joint here and there that will grow on you after repeated listens

    Meanwhile, tracks like “Robot”, “Body”, and “Gangsta” (the lead single?!?!) kind of drag this release into the seas of montony, with poor hooks or uninspiring production. This is certainly a different release for Def Jux, and the most ghetto release from the label yet, and convincing fans of wordy Aesop Rock or beat-driven RJD2 to pick it up may not be easy. But El-P has been quoted as saying “why would I want to sign a bunch of artists that sound like me?”, so if diversity is the goal for his label, then he’s reached that with his current stable of artists, S.A. Smash included. In closing, this album shows there is talent within the S.A. Smash crew, but maybe next trip to the studio they should leave their six-packs at home.