A Brand You Can Trust

Personnel: Russell Ali (guitar); Baby Jesus (bass guitar); DJ Lethal, Danny Boy, Everlast, Ill Bill, Slaine.
Photographer: Danny Boy O'Connor.
Despite their forming in 2005, hip-hop supergroup La Coka Nostra (a loose collective of emcees comprising House of Pain members Danny Boy and Everlast, Non Phixion's Ill Bill, and Special Teamz's Slaine) only got around to releasing their debut full-length after four years--an eternity in music industry terms. The group's much anticipated album, A BRAND YOU CAN TRUST, is clearly a throwback to hip-hop's late-`90s "golden era" producers and emcees, bearing little resemblance to the glossy pop-rap of the `00s. A battery of solid beats by DJ Lethal and Alchemist (whose ominous production echoes his work with East Coast dons Mobb Deep) perfectly complements the raspy, matter-of-fact vocal styles of Ill Bill and Everlast, particularly on the Snoop Dogg featured hardcore anthem, "Bang Bang."