This is the 19th solo album of Ghanaian presenter Recognize Ali. From the plethora of LPs, mixtapes, and EPs he’s released over the past decade or so to the stellar performances he’s provided for numerous artists, the guy has been a dominant force in the underground music scene. For me personally, some of the standouts from his ever-growing catalog include Back 2 Mecca by Giallo Point, the Guerrilla Dynasty trilogy by Stu Bangas and Season of the Se7en by Bronze Nazareth, to name a few. After returning to M3cca this fall, DJ D-Styles has been brought on board to produce All Shall Perish.
“Realest” opens with this gritty sizzle that suggests it would be unwise to start a fight with him, while “Killing Birds” featuring Bub Styles is an eerie account of the shattered dream of emptying a full magazine in front of your opponent. “Perpetual Stew” maintains a hardcore boom beat, reminding the world that he’s the guy with a repertoire that says it all, while “Give ‘Em Hell” mixes some piano and saxophone with kick and snare, warning people that they might get buried for going against him.
Boob Bronx and Chubs join Ali on the title track to boast that everything they touch becomes monumental, leading “Bad Mon” to talk about not messing around because his stick is too big and he could lose his life. “Soft Ones,” a collaboration with Sage Infinite, finds the two talking about war-era loads and taking a moment to talk about “sometimes the predator is the prey,” before final track “Real Recognize” ends with All Shall Perish making a statement demanding recognition of his authenticity.
Guerrilla Reigns III was a great ending to a great trilogy, and I thought Return to M3cca was pretty cool even though I didn’t really like it. All Shall Die, on the other hand, is an improvement over its predecessor from just a few months ago, and is easily considered Ali’s best solo effort in a while. The guest list could be 50/50, but DJ D-Styles’ work represents the iconic Beat Junkie Sound and the founder of Greenfield Music’s calligraphy, which outweighs the few criticisms I have of it.
Rating: 9/10
