Kottonmouth Kings

Greatest Highs

Suburban Noize Records

(Kottonmouth Kings MySpace)

I still remember when I was first exposed to the Kottonmouth Kings. It was late one night on an Australian music video channel and the clip of Suburban Life came on. To be honest, I was kind of blown away by these white-boy rappers with a snotty punk attitude.

That was 10 years ago and time sure flies by when you are having fun and you can’t say the over this past decade the Kottonmouth Kings haven’t brought the party each and every time. For a bunch of proud to be stoners, the boys also work unusually hard, with tour after tour and nine full-length albums. Greatest Highs captures the best moments across this period with a career defining 39 tracks.

All the favorites are here and all the band’s styles are evenly represented. You got the grinding straight-up hip hop of Bump, City to City, King Klick, and First Class. There is the irie reggae rhythms of such classics like Dog’s Life, Positive Vibes, Rest of My Life and Peace of Mind. And finally there is the innovative mix of punk and hip hop (rip hop) on the blistering Full Throttle, Livin’ Proof and Dyin’ Daze.

It was almost a return to form on the band’s previous full-length release Cloud 9, but the two new tracks here on this 'best of' compilation reflect my general thoughts on the band’s newier albums. It’s hit and miss. Can Anybody Hear Me?, is a refreshing yet moody acoustic inspired track and one of the Kottonmouth Kings most memorable in recent years, while the other new song No Future is simply a throwaway.

If you haven’t jumped on the KMK band-wagon to date I don’t know if there is anything I can write to change your mind, however those who may have given up hope or haven’t dusted off their old copy of Royal Highness in a while, Greatest Highs is a powerful reminder that these ballers from the suburbs still got game.

Reviewed by Pilipo