VMP pressing on 2LP Yellow vinyl, with lacquers cut by Cicely Balston...
When Queens natives Capone-N-Noreaga dropped their 1997 debut album The War Report Hip Hop was in the middle of a transition period. A new crop of MCs were coming in, many of the benchmark artist of the late 80s early 90s were starting to fall off and labels focused their efforts on getting artist on mainstream radio, ushered in by the Jiggy Era. For Capone-N-Noreaga this commercial shift was not an option - they represented Queens to the fullest carrying the torch passed down from MC Shan.
To make the Queens connection even deeper, the mastermind behind The War Repost was QB Legend Tragedy Khadafi who discovered and molded the duo into the flagship artists for his newly christened 25 to Life Records. In many ways Tragedy was the unofficial 3rd member of the group as he appears on more than half the album. The War Report represented a new era of street science and gritty New York beats; tracks like Illegal Life, Stick You & T.O.N.Y all became anthems that summer, making this one of the Greatest Debut Albums in Hip Hop History according to Complex Magazine.
From the moment you hear the piano of Bloody Money it sets a clear tone for this album, the War has begun. With features from Tragedy, Iman Thug, Mobb Deep and uncredited Busta Rhymes ad libs CNNs debut is treated as almost a revolving door of like-minded MCs determined to keep the music pure. Rounding out the production aspect, The War Report features EZ Elpee, Nasheim Myrick, Buckwild, Lord Finesse, Marley Marl and super DJ Clark Kent who all bring their unique style while all meshing together perfectly to make this debut a capsule to late 90s Rap.
