Emcee M.D.

April 25, 2024

Reviews > Album Reviews > Emcee M.D. – ‘First Strike’

First Strike

Thursday 21st August, 2014 by Polmar | 1 Comment

Our Rating

User Rating

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Emcee M.D. (Madd Dogg) is an American Hip Hop artist from the Buffalo, NY region. Originally growing up outside of the city in a country setting, Mad Dog first entered the music scene by taking part in rock bands, the most notable being Boss Tribal. In 2011, Emcee M.D. released his debut solo hip hop album, ‘First Strike.’ The blending of various different themes and styles quickly made the album a fan favorite.

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of a review, overall I wanted to say that I enjoy this album. There is certainly a very old-school feel, reminiscent of early 90s’ hip hop, that has been re-twisted into a modern way. There is no general theme to the album on a whole, but there are a few motifs that are present: his perseverance as an artist, his hatred for fads and social ignorance, and his love for video games and technology

Let’s get into a track-by-track breakdown:

1. G’Nasty – This track serves a great intro. It contains a lot of long instrumentals, and the vocals help get you pumped and ready for the album.
Rating: 4/5

2. Top 40 Scourge – This is one of my favorites. It starts right off with Emcee M.D. coming at you with no build-up. He’s in your face this entire track, letting you know what he’s about and if you don’t like it, move out of the way. The instrumental is energetic yet mellow, with a great beat and slight guitar and piano to string the percussion along.
Rating: 4/5

3. Enter the Dragon – This track is a perfect example of the diverse skills Emcee M.D. possesses. This is in no way your typical rap song, it would fall more into the Spoken Word category. The lyrics are very poetic, and relates the properties of a rap battle to that of ancient Asia. The instrumental has an epic feel to it, making you feel as if you’re actually battling samurais in mountain-top temples.
Rating 4.5/5

4. Save the Night – This is an energetic track heavily laden with a metal influence. The instrumental is made up of fast drums and guitars while Emcee M.D. shows off his punk/metal voice. This is a good mosh-pit song.
Rating: 3.5/5

5. Happy Birthday – This is a very powerful and emotional track. Being the lead single from the album, it’s a definitely a fan favorite during a live performance. The song, which is based on a true story, deals with our young artist’s loss of his sister right before his 16th birthday. Check out the video below.
Rating: 4.5/5

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR4oXZBo8wE[/youtube]

6. I’ll Pretend I Didn’t Hear That – This song is made up of actual insults that have been thrown at Emcee M.D. over the years. The thing is, he doesn’t care. He just churned them back out into a song and “pretends he doesn’t hear it.” Peep the video below:
Rating: 4/5

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SHYw3uOt6M[/youtube]

7. Hip Hop Power (Intermission) – As the title says, this is an intermission track. It’s about two minutes long and boasts a good beat to carry you over to the next half of the album.
Rating: 4/5

8. Omnipitron – This track displays Emcee M.D.’s hatred for fads and pop-rap. He deliberately calls out emo’s and anyone who follows a trend. He states right in the chorus, “You’re not a robot.” The instrumental backing this track is a good bouncy beat.
Rating: 4/5

9. The Abyss – This is a dark gritty track that Juggalos are sure to love. The instrumental feels as though it’s about to suck you into the shadows, and the edge in Emcee M.D.’s voice adds to the ambience.
Rating: 4/5

10. A Boy and His Mac-Book – This can be considered an origin track. It gives a background on who Emcee M.D. is and some of his philosophy in the music game. The beat is reminiscent of an old 16-bit video game title screen. This song is definitely more lighthearted than many of the others on this album, and the half-sung chorus becomes catchy after a while.
Rating: 4/5

11. Get Yours – This is a lyrical track, and the message is quite clear: “get yours.” Especially in this game, you need to take it, and if you’re not going to, get out of the way.
Rating: 3.5/5

12. Chop ‘Til You Drop – This one is for all you video gamers out there. This track is based on the Nintendo Wii game ‘Dead Rising‘, and tells the tale of the main character being trapped in a shopping mall full of zombies.
Rating: 3.5/5

13. The Crest – The final track, and another one of my favorites. This track is about never giving up, never backing down. Some of my favorite lyrics on the album are contained in this chorus: “Next time? There’s no next for me. This time, I play for keeps.” The instrumental has a nice dark edge with a definite metal influence.
Rating: 4.5/5

Final average track rating: 4/5

Production-wise, this album is solidly mixed and engineered. The volumes are steady throughout with no noticeable spikes or soft spots in the vocals. The physical product comes in a jewel case with a 16-page booklet, containing all sorts of original artwork by Emcee M.D. himself, as well as a poster and a cut-out customizable powerglove.

All in all, this album is definitely worth listening to, especially if you’re in the mood to hear something a little different. While most music these days tends to be more depressing, this album stays positive all throughout. Even it’s most emotional track, “Happy Birthday,” isn’t a downer.

Bottomline: listen to this album. And also be sure to stay connected via the links below, as there is much more coming from Emcee M.D. soon..