Kottonmouth Kings: High Society : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

More stoned than sublime, cockier than Cypress Hill, trashier than 311, Kottonmouth Kings embody nearly every hoary hip-hop honky cliche on their second album, High Society. This Orange County, California, posse shamelessly bites the cadences of all its favorite dope MCs, from Eazy-E and Snoop Dogg to the Beastie Boys. Chants of "Blaze all day, every day" (the chorus of "First Class") epitomize the depth of their songwriting. They even survive a rancid rhyme battle with their Midwest cracker peers, Insane Clown Posse, on "Wicket Clowns." So then what makes High Society such a guilty pleasure? Maybe it's the grooving metallic production, which is both disarmingly bugged out and appealingly populist (think Kid Rock trying on outfits at Paul's Boutique while blunted on The Chronic). There's also the fact that, for all their goofy bong-hit braggadocio and dry-mouthed humor, these young punks can actually flow on the mike. In the white-boy, skate-rap, nut-grabbin', crunk-punk-funk arena, these Kings rule. (RS 843)

MATT DIEHL