Top Quality - Magnum Opus

For a short span of time during the early '90s, the offshoots of Epmd stylistically held the entire New York City rap scene on lockdown. While Erick Sermon's Def Squad scored early and often with Redman leading the charge, Pmd's Hit Squad was left hoping to follow up the success of Das Efx with the release of Magnum Opus by Top Quality. Despite its obscurity and lackluster reception, the album reveals an uncanny panorama of East Coast hip-hop circa 1993. Complete with references to Philly blunts and "buddha," formatted at times in pig Latin and abrasively delivered by a roughneck emcee, the clichés on Magnum Opus are abundant. Read More