The eXXecution (Bonus Track Version)

Album Review

One of the lesser-known Boot Camp affiliates, Brooklyn rapper Ruste Juxx has been kicking around since the late '90s, debuting on Heltah Skeltah's sophomore effort, Magnum Force, contributing guest verses to a slew of Duck Down releases, and putting out his own full-length solo effort (co-signed by the BCC's most highly acclaimed artist of late, Sean Price) in 2008. Canadian-born, N.Y.-based producer Marco Polo has been steadily building his rep since his own 2007 debut LP, Port Authority, gained attention for its true-school-centered beats and all-star guests. Since welcomed to the Duck Down roster, Polo produced an entire LP for hardcore Coney Island MC Torae in 2009, the impressive Double Barrel. The Exxecution follows in the same vein as that previous effort, with Marco Polo providing loop-heavy tracks that recall the 1990s East Coast heyday while Ruste Juxx spits aggressive battle-ready verses rife with verbal threats and street-corner boasts. While he does little to set himself apart from the BCC ranks — early on charactering himself as the "official Boot camp true-school general" (isn't Buckshot the general?) — Juxx seems to have benefited from Sean Price's mentoring as he works a perfectly cadenced flow and manages to maintain a high energy level throughout the LP. Still, the most exciting moments on The Exxecution come when Juxx's Duck Down elders stop by — case in point, the business-as-usual "Take Money" comes to life when Heltah Skeltah appears and then catches fire with legendary vet Freddie Foxxx's furious closing verse. But the record's hands-down highlight is the extraordinary Black Moon collabo "Let's Take a Sec." Elsewhere, Sean P ups the ante on hubris on "F*ckin wit a Gangsta," as he signs off claiming to ghostwrite Ruste Juxx's rhymes and chuckling, "If you a Ruste Juxx fan, I know you a Sean Price fan." That pretty much sums it up.