Posted on 05/07/2009
When I first heard the Russian rapper, MC Comeczechmi, my initial thought was, “Maybe this is a joke or another one of those hip-hop spoof records.” My second thought was, “Oh, this isn’t a spoof,” followed by, “Let me not be an arrogant ethnocentric American.” My third thought was, “Someone wasted a lot of tracks on this guy,” followed by a storm of laughter. Simply put, MC Comeczechmi’s The Cold War Continues, is an eye gouging, ear plugging, “cut it off, or kill me now” debacle.

MC Comeczechmi raps in a strange blend of Russian, and American urban vernacular which creates nothing but overcompensating, and completely unbelievable swagger, which technically isn’t swagger at all. This guy is an actor. At least he sounds like one. He just seems like a Russian kid who has identified with hip-hop but has yet to identify with himself, therefore everything he says comes across as hokey, no matter how absurd or obscene.

For instance, on the alcoholic anthem, “Get Raw (Drink, Drink)” he does, well…what hundreds of American rappers do all the time; boast about partying and drunkenness. But Comeczechmi’s just doesn’t do the same thing. It comes across as contrived, violent, and ultimately, not a good time.

He even tries to show a little depth on the historically charged, “No Thanks,” which is a song about the conquest of the Native American’s land by the “white man” to make what we all now know as America. The story is actually pretty interesting, and the facts all seem in tact, but it still doesn’t work. Why? Because he doesn’t work. Period.

The Cold War Continues, is an epic mess. It’s one of those albums that you listen to and wonder whether or not you’re being punked, or if somehow you’ve been teleported to the Russian part of bizarre-world. But I give it to MC Comeczechmi for not giving a damn. And for picking pretty dope beats. And I take my hat off to hip-hop, the international communicator, for spanning the globe. Unfortunately, it sometimes permeates the spongy minds of Russians, who just don’t quite pull it off. At least not this one.

- Jason Reynolds