Whether you prefer the pulpy sci-fi yarns of Deltron 3030, the razor-sharp horrorcore of the Gravediggaz, the Atlanta stomp of Bankroll Mafia, or the moody indie-rap bliss of Madvillain, supergroups used to dominate many corners of rap. They aren’t exactly en vogue at the moment, but Czarface, made up of Wu-Tang Clan’s Inspectah Deck and the Massachusetts duo 7L & Esoteric, persists. Since 2013, the trio has defined itself through mutual loyalty to old-school hip-hop and Silver and Bronze Age comic books. Czarface make hard-nosed, slightly goofy boom-bap for people who can identify Cella Dwellaz deep cuts as readily as the difference between John Romita and Steve Ditko’s work on Spider-Man.
Super What?, their 2021 collaboration with the late MF DOOM, was a high-water mark animated by the presence of rap’s greatest supervillain. Czarface’s latest, Czartificial Intelligence, plays out more like a Guardians of the Galaxy-style buddy action-dramedy. This is nerdy dad rap projected through a cel-shaded lens, a batch of average-to-pretty-good songs that don’t take many risks. Over 7L’s samples and dusty drums, Deck and Esoteric’s raps range from clever to lazy. Deck is known for his direct language, an approach that works best when he’s in storytelling mode: On the dark and heartfelt “Sirens,” he awakens to a tragic morning-after and “thugs crying.” That curt style doesn’t translate as well to his punchlines. Half-assed bars like “Taking ’em to class like I’m driving a school bus” (“You Know My Style”) or “It’s Ray’s pizzeria how I serve it to ’em pronto” (“Blast Off”) pale beside his once-earthshaking bars.
Esoteric takes bigger lyrical swings and gets wilder results. His style is lighter and his references are more specific, using Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry’s mouthguard and motion-capture actor Andy Serkis to big up his rap skills—or shame others’. He isn’t immune to groaners—if I never hear another of his “czar” puns again, it’ll be too soon—but he at least doesn’t take himself too seriously. “Rivalries is short-lived, like dwarves is,” he says on “You Know My Style” before immediately hanging a lampshade on his words: “I take that line back/They couldn’t get it off the track with forklifts.”
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
