Formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky, Code Red contain the body work of one MC Manfred (three tattoos, a fresh baldy, a few bad acid trips), one El One Wise (ex military officer, word-builder, business school graduate, short and to the point) one producer Watz (long, hard and lonely, long-distance driver, sound-student, bill payer, man with a dream) and one Junior Dread (unruly Jamaican vagabond, corrected juvenile, former soldier, storm survivor, man with nine-lives). Another hip-hop band exploding out of the underground? Well something along those lines, yes, but if you’re expecting ‘All Aboard’ to be the loose, fragmented and hastily shambolic dump traditionally volunteered by crews like this (and as occasionally successful as they are) you’re going to have your nose put out of joint, as this record manages to stray from the script and still retain a sharp focus, whether it’s the glue of the social commentary (‘Drive By’), the anti-war laments (‘Give Me A Reason’) or the domestic politics of inter-racial affairs (‘Brother Louis’). The biggest surprise, however, is that Code Red can debate the issues with the kind of compassion that could only come with experience. So if you’re looking for sermons or propaganda, you’d be better looking elsewhere. The tone is level, the balance is solid and the grooves are as fluent and as smooth as KY Jelly; a gameplan defined in the opening moments of the record – a Curtis Mayfield sample, a heart-rending vocal from Tanita Gaines and a deep, bass flow and extended by the rough party filter provided ‘For My People’ and the fresh and joyous ‘Summer Jam’.
Some may balk at just how ‘comfortable’ this record sounds, but that’s the natural downside of success – it gels, and there’s hardly a moment when the pace lets up. Stand-out tracks like ‘The Sky Is Falling’ and ‘Pimp It Out’ hot it up and cuts like ‘Give Me A Reason’ cool it down. The result? Something practically steaming.