(TheBRHM.com) On the rock and metal side, I enjoy a variety of genres. When it comes to hip-hop, it’s primarily trap, drill, horrorcore and crunk—when I’m feeling nostalgic. There was a period in the late 1990s and early 2000s when rock/metal and hip-hop were merged into the genre rap rock which was often in the mix with nu metal at the time.
I never cared for that mix because often it just wasn’t the best part of either genre. Then it all began to sound same-y in a very short period of time. Perhaps it was a mixture that would be appreciated years later via artists like Juicy Karkass or via the 2000 horrorcore releases from Insane Clown Posse (Bizaar and Bizzar) and Twiztid (Freek Show). XXXtentacion was very close but for me it was a matter of how much of it is on the album and the balance between hip-hop and rock.
Of course, the genre of rock is an important factor and by the late 2010s, the bigger screamo bands had started to refine or shape their sounds. But this isn’t a rap rock lesson. It’s about a young artist who got the mix right in his time: Mario Judah.
Who is Mario Judah?
Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Mario Judah started as a producer but began writing upon discovering that he could sing—which had to be an interesting moment to discover such a talent. Some of his influences such as Pantera and Breaking Benjamin can be heard in his vocal style and the heaviness of his music.
As mentioned here before: I love fast, heavy, aggressive music. Mario’s Endure album checks those boxes and the bonus “dark” box. The release oozes violence and bleakness but not in the same sense of death metal, thrash or black metal. It’s modern, fresh horrorcore, rap rock done right, etc. To the horrorcore claim, Endure gives off “Esham if Esham started in the 2020s” vibes or if Twiztid sacrificed speed and precision in their flows for heaviness and more aggression on Mostastless and Freek Show.
Personally, I believe one of the secrets of Mario Judah’s sound is the time in music history he started as an artist. Born in late 1999, his teen years would’ve seen different rock and hip-hop acts to draw from compared to Twiztid, Esham, or myself. The active artists he would’ve enjoyed as a teenager would’ve been early in their careers when I listened to them.
But those artists made for good influences, he found whose vocal stylings would accompany what he wanted to write and create and forged his own vocal style. That brings us back to his unique sound. I’m diving into Whole Lotta Red from 2020 and the sound there is more along the lines of hip-hop with Judah using a tone in his flow that you wouldn’t expect upon seeing the young rapper-singer.
I found that project enjoyable but Endure had me lean back, squint at my Apple Music to see who I was listening to, go to Wikipedia, and return to the tunes. I was invested in this album because “Kill All The Enemies” and “This Is None Of Your Business” really had me hit the rewind button.
However, if you really want to hear some of Mario Judah at his best at this period in his career, I recommend the singles “Die Very Rough” and “Rockstar”—the latter of which I wish was longer because it’s such a dope, heavy song.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.