Duke Montana
Grind Muzik

Encased in an artwork as carefully crafted as it is comic-like is the new mixtape by Duke Montana.

The Roman rapper, a member of the TruceKlan, along with other trusted companions, releases this new album which narrates ever more clearly, but without inventing anything new, the hardships of street life, its problems and rules, brotherhood with those "inside," and a lot of anger; all of this is told, in a mix of English and Italian, with brutality and boldness, common characteristics yet with distinct and unique slang of Duke and his colleagues.

After the intro produced by Master Gengis Khan, the fun begins. Among the first tracks highlighted are the title track, "Sempre in movimento" and "Black Bandana", with "Noyz Narcos" as a special guest, and the melancholic "Bloody Melodies". Very impressive is "Making Moves", produced by the very young "Sick Luke" and "Sottosuolo" with the bloody rhymes of the metal sergeant Metal Carter. After a brief skit, in my opinion, the best tracks of the album come, both for the beats and the rhymes of the Duke and guests. The first is "Psycho Killers", I would almost say it's a mosh-ready track, where Duke fits rhymes with malice and pride, like a street veteran unafraid of his enemies, even urging them to be meaner; "Golden Age" is a proper ghetto song, featuring "In The Panchine" with their delirious flows, and finally "Material Boy", with the gritty 1Zuckero and Pepy, another rapper from the Roman underground.

There's also space for Montenero on "My City" and for GDB on "E' Rap Romano", undoubtedly a manifesto track of this music. To conclude, there's even a diss track towards the hated Frankie Hi Nrg, guilty of having "spat dirt on the clique" following the events and arrests of September 18, 2009. I can say I've quite appreciated Grind Muzik, an album that tells it like it is about life on the streets, where the only things that matter are respect, loyalty among comrades, and accumulating and producing money.