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Project Born and the Born Dead 3 release “The Reapers Revenge”. ROX-TV reviews the third installment in the Born Dead series.

 

The Projects on a cold and windy day. This is the world that Project Born came up in and learned to survive for nearly twenty years in the infamous complex off of Carpenter Road on the North Side of Flint Town.

It can be said that no group represents the City of Flint and that underground sound better than Project Born. I’ve lived in the 810 my entire life and as far as I can see, there isn’t another group from Flint Town that has lasted as long or been as consistent with releases, shows, and staying relevant like the homies from the infamous Carpenter Road Projects on the North Side.

 

Lil Polk walking through the River Park Projects, made famous for shit that went down in the 80’s and the 90’s. No place for the weak. If your rolling through, you better come correct.

A lot can be said about the group but the fact is, they are the real deal G’s from way back, and their legacy is cemented firmly in the ground like a damn headstone in the cemetery. Surviving in the River Park Projects for years, the group sold dope on the “set” and kicked rhymes to pass the time. In a city that has been considered one of the most dangerous places in America for literally decades, Project Born rose to prominence with cocaine and a career that has spanned three decades.

 

Considered Ghetto Legends by many in the Juggalo Universe and beyond, PJB first burst onto the music scene with a track called “Losin It” with ESHAM in 1993. The song instantly became a Flint Town classic in real time and thrust the group into the Michigan Underground Culture of the 1990’s, which thanks to ESHAM, NATAS, ICP, and others….was thriving like a weed plant under a 1,000 watt high pressure sodium bulb.

 

Eventually Insane Clown Posse would come across the “Losin It” cassette tape at Wyatt Earp Records on the West Side of Flint Town (Coruna Rd west of Linden Rd) and the idea of signing the group to Psychopathic Records slowly started to take shape. During an interview for the upcoming Project Born book “Forever in the Jects”, I talked to Violent J about how that had gone down. I don’t want to say too much and be the spoiler guy, but Violent J told me he travelled up to Wyatt Earp Records to check out the sounds coming out of the city. The owner at the time told him about a single by Project Born featuring Esham that he couldn’t keep in the store. Violent J checked it out and set into motion, a series of events that would lead to PJB getting signed with Psychopathic Records.

 

Born Dead 3, the third installment from the PJB fam. This is a must have for any Michigan Underground collection. Dropping in 2019, it features a shit load of dope artists. Get it today.

The end result was that a new series was about to be born, although at the time, PJB didn’t know the far reaching affects of this first EP. Eventually the group would release four CD’s all together for the “BORN DEAD” series spread out over the coming years. 1995 saw the release of the first album on Psychopathic Records and featured ICP and ESHAM. Both songs “Graveyard” and “Losing It” are frequently cited by Juggalos as some of their favorite PJB tracks and they have made appearances on Hatchet History and Forgotten Freshness Volumes 1 and 2.

 

As the series continued over the years, three more releases followed including the one I’m reviewing today and that is the Born Dead 3 release “The Reapers Revenge”. The album dropped in 2019 and features 18 songs, many featuring amazing guest appearances including ICP on the track “Round Here” and also on “Techniques and Tactics”, Ouija Macc and Blahzay Roze on “Don’t Switch”, Skitzo on “Run”, Hoodu and Roach Joka on “I’m Off” and many more.

 

I was given a copy of this album to enjoy by none other than the Morningside OG’s Frank Nitty and Lil Polk. I must say that I’ve been wrecking the speakers in the car ever since. You know an album is good when you put it in your stereo (I’m from the 90’s and still rock out tapes, cd’s, and even records) and it stays there for like three weeks. That’s pretty uncommon, in the 90’s or today really. But what’s good is good, and that can’t be denied.

 

Some of my favorite tracks include the following songs (not in any particular order)

  1. Sins: This song is amazing and the video that goes with the track is also a vivid depiction of the world of Project Born and the insane realities of Murder City…Flint Town 810. Frank Nitty and Lil Polk do an amazing job on this track, from the lyric content to the delivery. See for yourself.
  2. Techniques and Tactics featuring Insane Clown Posse: This is a great song that features that fire that only these two old school homie groups can bring. I’ve said it before and I don’t think these guys are capable of making a bad track together. I blast this shit through residential areas. 313 and the 810 riding again. It never gets old.
  3. Nightmare Walkin featuring Gozza: I dig this track. The samples are deadly. Frank Nitty is dropping fire in this one. The lyrics paint a tapestry of images as the music rolls by like a train. Any rap head will also hear that homage to ICE T and the 1988 smash song “Colors” from the movie soundtrack. If you don’t know, you better ask somebody.
  4. Pressure: Another song that I can’t get enough of. Lil Polk and Frank Nitty bring it again and again on this album. Flint Town can be proud of these hometown artists and the music they drop. They call out bullshit, demand clean water for the residents, and continually put it down for their hood. Morningside is in the fucking house and you gotta show em respect.

    Project Born and the homies from the Cruisin the Barrio CRB family. Lil Polk, The one and only Rude Boy, A.T. Huck, Frank Nitty, DJ Carlito, and Lady T. PJB was a guest on the show, talking about the old school and the new book project.

5. Don’t Switch featuring Blahzay Roze and Ouija Macc: Another fly ass track featuring some of the homies from the Psychopathic Family. The track is a head banger and runs hard. The homies from Morningside put it down with Blahzay and Ouija. The atmosphere on this track is a perfect blend of that Flint gutter grime and lyrical carpet bombs from the talented roster.

6. Round Here featuring ICP: This might be the closest track that can compare to that original killer jam “Graveyard” from these two killer crews. It reminds me of that old school Juggalo shit that I fucking respond to. I can do this back, to back, to back, and repeat. I do not care. What’s good is good and this is some serious Murder Mitten G shit.

Amy Jo Manor, Project Born lived in the complex before moving to River Side back in the 80’s during the crack explosion that left the City waste deep in cocaine and crack rocks. The area is no joke and outsiders are not welcome.

For the rest of the tracks, your going to have to get a copy and see that shit for yourselves. If you like that old school underground G music, than Project Born has a few “rocks” for you. Come on down to Morningside Drive on that Nasty North and get served the real deal.

 

Ground Zero for that dope spot, made famous in the 80’s and 90’s for the open air drug market. Project Born put their work in, down on the “set”. From boulders to soft, it was flowing like the Flint River.

Project Born has a lot of new things in the works, with the book getting closer to dropping (Summer 2021), rumors of a brand new album, and much more. A little bird off the wire even told me that HEXXX760 and Project Born got “something interesting” cooking up in the Pyrex on the stove. I guess the readers at ROX-TV will have to wait and see what the homies from Flint Town and our West Coast G HEXXX are up to for now.

 

As far as the Born Dead 3 album, its fire and should be added to any respectable underground collection. I can’t wait to see what Project Born does once our world opens back up again. Keep checking back with ROX-TV for updates on tours, concerts, and other Flint Town news. From 313 to the 810….thanks for tuning in for another ROX review.

 

Signing Off,

 

Mike Shepard

ROX-TV Head Writer

shepard2909@hotmail.com

kidvicious810

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