Mr. Complex’ song and video “Slaughter” featuring Swiss MC Kalmoo accompanies the release of Mr. Complex’ album “Swiss Chocolate Cake”.

Sub-Bombin Records, the Glens Falls-based record label, has released the first album in eight years of Mr. Complex, the legendary emcee from Queens who helped drive the underground hip hop scene in New York in the 1990s to early 2000.

The album, “Swiss Chocolate Cake,” which was recorded in Basel, Switzerland in 2004, came to Sub-Bombin’s attention through the company’s relationships with contemporary hip-hop artists, many of whom view Mr. Complex as a major influence.

The album has been released on vinyl and as a digital USB drive and is available locally at Divinyl Revolution in Saratoga Springs as well as through major Hip Hop record distributor, Fat Beats (fatbeats.com), Sub-Bombin’s soon to launch new website as well as iTunes.

According to Sub-Bombin’s president Midas, Mr. Complex rose to prominence through his work with performers such as DJ Spinna, Shabaam Sahdeeq and Pharoahe Monch, with whom he famously performed “Simon Says” on the television show, “The Source Sound Lab”. He has also worked with artists like De La Soul, Mos Def, Masta Ace, and Common, among others. His previous albums include The Complex Catalog, Hold This Down, and Twisted Mister. He has also released two albums with his group, Poly Rhythm Addicts, which consists of DJ Spinna, Shabaam Sahdeeq, and Apani B (who was later replaced by Tiye Phoenix). Mr. Complex’s 2001 single “Underground Up,” was featured in the film Brown Sugar with Taye Diggs.

New video by Rita J “The Cut” featuring J Live, produced by Proh Mic. The video was directed by the one and only Mr. Complex. “The Cut” is previously unreleased, but be sure to check out Rita J’s “Artist Workshop” album in stores now.

    Mr. Complex comes into this record fully clothed with flows. With recognizable wit in tact, he rips into “Emotional” proving that his swords are still sharp as ever. It just wouldn’t be right if Pharaohe Monch didn’t join his good buddy on the ridiculous “Scream Shout”. The two emcees tear the beat to shreds as they compliment each other nicely, and have many fans yearning for another Pharoahe Monch album. Mr. Complex impresses throughout with his diversification of subject matter over a little known team of beatsmiths production. Even though they aren’t well known they provide a sufficient backdrop for Complex to spit lines like “Who’s the sickest emcee to touch a mic? / go home and fight about it/ turn colors in the face get all tight about/ u know how many emcees a day I be waxing/ stayed tuned, I keep you abreast like….ah….Janet Jackson.”  Trying to focus on one of the many Mr. Complex quotables is like picking Barry Bonds most memorable home run. There are just too many to count and no answer is wrong.

     Mr. Complex keeps things appealing with his interesting concepts. Listeners may get a kick out of the women obsessive “Glue”. With lines like “I got your name tattooed to the side of my dick” you know you’re in for an interesting ride.  You would even think that when Mr. Complex goes another different direction with a sort of “girlie” song that he may lose momentum. Not so my friend.  When the melodies of “Scrape Your Back Out” begin, you might think he’s softening up, but as soon as Complex breaks into the humorous ode about breaking chicks off you realize that he hasn’t sacrificed a bit of his integrity.

     Even the guests that fall through manage to not steal the spotlight from Complex (which may be a hard feat nonetheless), but instead compliment his album to a much greater extent. Dilated Peoples lend their sound to Mr. Complex on the malicious “No Brainer”, while Vast Aire’s distinguishable tone advises Mr. Complex to “Calm Down”. Even Will Ferral of Anchorman and Old School fame acts an ass on the “Plex Goes Hollywood” skit. (How’d he pull that one off??)

    Twisted Mister is a reminder to all that Mr. Complex is eternally ill. While many emcees rely on the strength of their production team or the star power of their crew, Mr. Complex utilizes his sheer talent to put him over. A versatile emcee with style, concepts and lyrics is an endangered species nowadays. Twisted Mister is a reminder to those who thought that Mr. Complex would waltz off into the fog never to resurface. Mr. Complex has staying power whether you like it or not and Twisted Mister reaffirms that.

     While some may see him as a mush-mouthed lyricist, getting caught up in his own train of thought, a closer listen will reveal his raps to be incredibly well thought out and subtley clever in both delivery and content. As on “Rhapsody” (which could easily be the next opener for BET’s Rap City), works as the album’s flagship song, Complex describes a metropolis (say NYC), cleverly inserting emcee names as street corners and local spots. “Everybody Everywhere” is another walk through that same city, as Complex realize that just about everybody everwhere is rhyming, (with well-timed inserts from Punch & Words and Jean Grae. His delightful sense of humor plugs itself into his rhymes, as well as into his Adam Sandler like skits that bridge the album together.

      Complex’s taste in beats can’t be denied, as the vibey goodness of  “Desire” makes for sunshine on a rainy day, or on DJ Spinna’s hollow ping pong match that underscores “Underground Up”. Pretty much all of the beats on this album help carry Complex’s unorthodox style into acceptability, making this album fit somewhere in between Aceyalone and Pharaohe Monch. Still, while at times he does get too complex, with stream-of-consciousness rhymes that build off of each sentence like a maze of weblinks, he still delivers a likable album with Hold This Down. While his flow may be somewhat ahead of it’s time, or too advanced for some listeners, like he says on track # 10, people don t know how nice he is. 

A handful of singles and cameos later, the still album-less Mr. Complex takes the DIY initiative and compiles a collection of past jams, recent treats and juicy unreleased gems in radio show format hosted by homeboys DL & Emmo. It might not be the LP fans want, but surely proves solid, based on Complex’s thick catalog of quality material. The classic “Against The Grain” and it’s partners “Feel Me” and “I’m Rhymin” rightfully commence the project. For heads who might only be familiar with the Mr. from his Rawkus 12″ or the Polyrhythm Addicts album, all his other notable singles make appearances, from “Visualize Remix”, “I’ma Kill It” to the most recent “Stabbin’ You”. Still proving fresh in the ever changing easily stagnated Hip-Hop game, Complex’s newer and unreleased tracks hold the weight just as much as their commercially released brethren. Once a Japan-only import, “Divine Intervention” finds it way in the mix, and rightfully so because the moody Pharaohe Monch track masterfully melds with Complex’s paranoid contemplation. 96′s “Relax” pairs DJ Spinna and Complex together again, collectively creating a soothing head-nod factor. And the updated version of “Visualize” remixed by the UK’s Beyond There works nicely with new vocals recorded by Com.

With close to 20 tracks of Complex material, even the heads with all of the singles will find something to like about this compilation – if not for the sake of having all these great songs on one CD. Like many from that early generation of onetime “underground” Hip-Hop artists, faithful fans had the opportunity watch Complex’s maturation from release to release, The Complex Catalog marks a page in the innovative emcee’s career to what hopefully will be a novel of music to come.