In a era where hip-hop is dominated by the negligence of mainstream rappers, comes a 3 man hip-hop collective out of NYC that represents the 4 pillars of the culture with admiration and reckless abandonment. Dues Been Paid are not your quintessential freshman class of MC’s, they are your blue collared underrated veterans, who could out rap the current cream of the crop with out even breaking a sweat. Members Rod Da Blizz, Camiliano, and Thruway embody the essence of what made purist fall in love with the genre in its infancy. The Fuck Outta Here EP marks the first time the group was given a chance to showcase their talents on a international stage as they look to carve out their own path, and cast aside the out dated identity that defines New York City hip-hop. As you move from song to song on this project you will quickly understand that these guys are not trying to get into all the extra melodramatics that plaques the music industry in 2011. An example of my assessment is in the first song on the Ep titled “Near Future” where the groups lone producer/MC Rod Da Blizz comes in aggressively, spitting “Expect nothing less from the words that come/I’m nothing but pain & stress for you worthless bums/I put y’all in check and force you to work for crumbs/I caught a few motherfuckas speaking with serpent tongues/Back slap should be sufficient cause they ain’t worth the gun”. Another impressive song on the groups Extended Play is the collaborative effort with AG DA Coroner & Dj J-Love. This songs also showcases how the groups blue collar work ethic shines through. It also happens to be the EP’s title track “Dues Been Paid”. Here the groups front man Camiliano raps “Get you open like skin to a blade/ Its the same reaction every time the record is played/ I don’t care how you feel about moves I made/And the receipt is in my attitude of dues I paid/I broke a couple dollars to make some change/But you know what? You can keep the change”. Those are the type of bars that let you know Camiliano puts the love of the art just a little bit ahead of the cash flow.

On the soon to be hip-hop classic “Mouse Trap” all group members deliver way above average verses, it quickly gets your head to nodding as the lyrics flow smoothly over this sinister melodic change of pace Rod Da Blizz produced  track. This song also was the defining moment that lets the listening audience know all 3 group members are solo artist in their own right.

Two other stand out tracks on the project that are sure to get fans foaming from the mouth are “Top Shootin” and my favorite “We Got Love”

Minus the projects limitations sonically, Fuck Outta Here is a solid freshman effort by Dues Been Paid. The music shows this group has the potential to stand alone with out the standard industry hip-hop co-sign. It won’t go down as their landmark group release, but there’s no doubt they’re at the forefront of the next wave of New York hip-hop groups. - Track King Cole