Hip hop supergroup Serial Killers has released a fire mixtape in time for the spookiest season of the year. The well anticipated follow up to 2018’s Day of the Dead, the new Summer of Sam is the fourth installment in the Serial Killers’ hip-hop-horror franchise. The group’s newest effort brings the terrors of our modern era to the forefront in this socially critical collection of head-knocking tracks.
The Horror of Social Injustice
Likely named for the Spike Lee film, SOS sees Xzibit, B-Real, & Demrick harnessing the horrors of our current climate to offer poignant, chilling commentary. Since their first release in 2013, graphic violence and morbid flair have been a part of the group’s branding. In one of their earlier music videos for the track “The First 48,” you can watch Xzibit smile in delight as he brutally relieves a cop of his ear.
However, instead of gore, the frightening focus lands on something far more sinister. Rhymes about racism, police brutality, and the COVID-19 pandemic assert themselves atop gut-punching beats in tracks like “Quarantine” and “White Power.” Abrasive sonics provide an aesthetically appropriate backbone to the harrowing lyrics, still intermingled with a classic west-coast vibe.
“We Were Sick Before the Virus Hit”
On the album’s title track, the group lays down the hard truth of the times. Hip hop veteran and cannabis business mogul Xzibit starts the first verse. He tells a familiar tale of the economic disparity currently affecting millions of Americans. “Stimulus check on the 1st, shit will be gone by the 12th”. He goes on to proclaim “We were sick before the virus hit,” in a chilling moment of clarity.
On “Quarantined,” B-Real calls attention to America’s high body count at the hands of COVID-19. “Watching the news is obnoxious, it makes me nauseous, they keep saying these losses are all a part of the process”. Track after track, the group’s message remains clear. Our country is systemically broken and always has been.
SOS is furthered supported by tracks with big-name features from the likes of Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes. Featured in “Triggered” and “Man Down” respectively, the combined power of these hip hop heavyweights brings the supergroups roster to a legendary level.
The poignant collection of politically-charged bangers on Serial Killers’ Summer of Sam leave a lasting impression. Summer of Sam is now available for purchase and streaming everywhere.
