A-Alikes - The Hustler and the Hunted Part 2

Think Mobb Deep with the ability to spit knowledge. A-Alikes, a duo consisting of Ness and K, bridge a wide gap between empowering music and gangsta music on "The Hustler and The Hunted Part 2".

A Gangsta gospel that gets you nodding with hard beats, yet never unties its origins with Black people in this country and the current state of those living in the hood.

"Back to The Grind" is an inspiring track about the hustle of the artists over simple piano-laced track produced by Dr.Dre. The clever "Ducking from the Jake" samples the Nina Sky song produced by Cool & Dre, where A-Alikes switches up the chorus to fit their theme of choice; avoiding 5-0.

Duckin' the cops, not giving a fuck about the cops and hating the cops is traditional in hip hop music and it's also a recurring issue in "The Hustler and The Hunted Part 2". In doing so, it celebrates the guerilla spirit of the emcees. Alongside hating the police, the emcees highlight the wrong doings and injustice in the American legal systems. In-your-face lyrics tend to hit you over the head with political awareness.

Other tracks, like "Enemies" give advice about friends and foes and how to be weary of each, something many people can relate to.

The two most resonating tracks are "Something Horrible Happened" interlude where a woman emotionally screams into the mic about the lack of unity in the community; an interlude that everyone must listen to. And thereafter, the appropriately placed track "Timothy Stansbury aka Enuff is Enuff". The story of a young boy killed on the rooftop of a Brooklyn project.

All throughout the mixtape, empowering lyrics are heard and dope beats are knocking.

myspace.com/aalikes