Alexander Mendoza and Sonny Shotz, better known as the Kings Dead, is a hip-hop duo out of Massachusetts that has cultivated listeners with their ideals and concepts of society through the art of music. Dope rhythmic hooks and beats produced from Mendoza immerse rapper Sonny Shotz and his flow, making Utopia, the first installment in a two-part album, a recipe for success.
Already this duo's LP is climbing up the iTunes charts and for good reason. It starts off with Night Before the Future giving listeners a chilling 40 second skit on a possible future we could see as a society, leading into Sonny Shotz explaining how he wants everybody to treasure this moment of them becoming great and that you don't have to worry as fans because he has arrived. A typical Kings Dead introduction as all their work seems to tell a story in a way. Utopia is no different in that sense as this 13 piece LP conceptually delivers on a tale of a man who takes a trip into the future.
This future is first shown to listeners in Skit 1, a 45 second snippet of when the man is woken up by his robot on the cusp of entering into the year 2035. In honor of the New Year the announcer on the “entertainment system” plays the Kings Dead 'Utopia' calling it a “classic favorite of ours.” When Skit 2 rolls around on the LP it is that same announcer addressing the audience and informing them that the Kings Dead “will be performing at the O2 in London to celebrate 20 years of Utopia.” This skit is ended by the announcer leading the listener into the next song on the album, Satellite Kids ft. Mac the Hand.
This song is the lead single off from Utopia and is greased with Alexander Mendoza's hip-hop and pop beat, which he always seems to crossover together to a T, and it corresponds with Mac the Hand's hook so fluently. Sonny Shotz then does the rest by lyrically criticizing this generations lack of faith, obsession with the fashion, and addiction to drugs.
It has seemed to fans that the Kings Dead has been so close to becoming that next “big thing.” If there is one thing fans know it's that this duo does things differently. Society and religion are concepts that mainhip-hop seems to stray away from. This is what the Kings Dead thrives on.
In the song Sell It, Sonny Shotz explains that “the mainNazis put me in a box every time I say Jesus Christ and God.” This song is a lyrical masterpiece in regards to what is wrong with the mainmusic industry today. Sonny tells listeners that the music industry would “rather hear me drop Molly, hear me pop Oxy. See me taking Advil, sunglasses and coffee” instead of what really matters in this world. But as the song comes to a close, Sonny tells the fans that this won't stop this duo from continuing to deliver what has gotten them this far.
In Land Lord, Sonny comes out in the second verse explaining that “if the label is interested I need like 24 deals for every hour we've been steady climbing this hill.” But he then comes back and says that he is “allergic to negotiating business with you mainstream” because all they believe is that the Kings Dead is the same as everyone one else in the industry, when that is a complete lie and Sonny is not about to let the labels dictate them into that. Again, another shot fired from the Kings Dead at mainhip-hop music and more concrete proof that this duo could be a savior.
It is almost expected now from the Kings Dead to impress. They have all the ingredients to be the start of a revolution in the music industry. Alex Mendoza doesn't deliver us with an album full of club banger beats and Sonny Shotz isn't out there trying to find Molly, but that never has been the goal of this two-some, even way back in The Deans List days. What the Kings Dead gives to you in Utopia isn't something you will find in a Drake or Lil Wayne album. It frankly isn't something that you will find anywhere in the music industry today. But a different breed of musicians is exactly how they want to be seen. Utopia allows listeners to take a trip into a future these two see when the hip-hop industry has changed and the Kings Dead was the reason for it. The second part of this album is set to be released in spring of 2015.
Rating: 4.5/5
You can listen to and purchase the Kings Dead 'Utopia' now at the iTunes store.
