“G.A.M.O. (Gods Against Man’s Oppression)” is Better Than Napoleon da Legend’s Previous LP Even if It’s Bloated [Album Review]

Right in front of us is the 34th studio LP from French-American underground veteran Napoleon da Legend. Heads in the underground should already be familiar with him due to the lengthy discography that he’s built up for himself for nearly the past decade including Coup D’État, it’s sequel, Street Universe, Dragon Ball G, the Sicknature-produced Colossus of GOATS, Buckets, the DJ D-Styles-produced Invincibl Rap Mislz, the DJ Rhettmatic-produced Legmatic, the JR Swiftz-produced Great Minds & F.L.A.W. (Following Lies Always Wounds). However, I was surprised to hear most of G.A.M.O. (Gods Against Man’s Oppression) was gonna be produced by the man himself.

After the “End” intro, “Polonium” begins with this triumphant boom bap instrumental talking about having the cannon handed to him since it’s the champion’s turn whereas the self-produced “It’s All Over” works in some sampling chops looking to send all competitors home bruised up & breaking bones. “Addis Abba” featuring Vinnie Paz finds the 2 lividly talking about this music shit not being for everyone & after the “Imminent Danger” interlude, “Black Caesar” featuring Steele teams up so they continue the hardcore lyricism.

“Spilled Sphinx” featuring Nejma Nefertiti reunites the pair so they can go back-&-forth with each other like they’ve already done so countless times in the past prior to “Bombardians” featuring CF & Dontique decently talking about raising the bar & still not reaching their pinnacles yet. “Think Dominant” featuring Innocent? & SKAM2? brings in some horns to get it out the dirt while “Masked Assassin” after the “Water Seeds” interlude attacks biters who can’t be original to save their lives.

Skyzoo appears on the lavish “Tough Skin” looking back at when they had shit mapped out when the rest were playing cat & mouse games while “Kill Bots” featuring Passport Rav but after the “Break the Chains” interlude trades bars with one another over a beat from the latter talking about the cold world not getting any warmer. “Star Wars” grittily lets it be known that those who want to reach his level will die quickly while the crooning “Sinners & Saints” talks about enjoying the present moment.

“Mind War” featuring Lord Goat poses the question of what one would die for & the rise of AI taking people’s jobs from them while the title track talks about cancelling the sellouts as well as causing the cancers to cease spreading. “Ultimate Power” after the “System Error” skit reassures confidence of his future despite not reaching his prime yet but once the jazzy “Alan Wattage” featuring Ghost Machine talks about the world being The Boondocks & South Park combined, “Save Me” preceding the “Beginning” outro ends by advising against going at the Pharaoh.

Keeping in mind that there are literally dozens of albums in the Napoleon da Legend catalog, I did come away from G.A.M.O. (Gods Against Man’s Oppression) liking it less than Soul vs. Math & more than Promise. Nonetheless, I’d put Great Minds & F.L.A.W. (Following Lies Always Wounds) above all of them combined. His own production’s a huge compliment I can hand this one blending noir wave & modern boom bap in addition to the concept, except I feel like it’s a little bloated.

Score: 6/10