The Psycho Realm

Psycho Realm includes: B-Real, Jacken Gonzales, Duke Gonzales.
Additional personnel: Bobo (keyboards, bass, percussion, background vocals); Randy Cantor (keyboards, Mellotron); Jason Roberts (bass); DJ Jazz, TRT (scratches).
Producers: B-Real, Jacken Gonzales, Psycho Ward, TRT.
Engineers include: Steve B., Ross Donaldson, Eric Janko.
Recorded at Amerycan Studios, North Hollywood, California; The Hill, Larrabee Studios and Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, California.
The Psycho Realm's eponymous debut album is an impressive collection of hardcore West Coast gangsta rap. Led by B Real, one of the masterminds behind Cypress Hill, the trio is a dark hardcore outfit -- there's genuine menace in their rhymes and music, which is why it hits so hard. Where other crews deal with cartoonish violence, the Psycho Realm's surrealistic imagery and impressionistic music -- which is still grittily funky -- creates genuine tension. It's not a perfect record -- it runs on a little too long, which has the unfortunate side effect of dulling their message -- but it tries more things than the average hip-hop record, and that alone makes it worth a listen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

• RSD Release Date: DDD
• Released: 3/21/2016
• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Hip Hop