Several years ago it seemed like Hip Hop and R&B were in locked in their own type of Civil War with "Independents/ Nu Soul" facing off against "mainstream/major label" artists.

After the dust settled the more commercial "mainstream" artists clearly came out on top and Philadelphia became known as the upcoming, if not premiere, city for listeners who prefer gritty street tales and hardcore rhymes.

But just like the defeated South, "Independents" seem poised to rise again and Philadelphia's Chief Kamachi (Good Hands) is on the front lines carrying the flag.

Kamachi's new album Cult Status is an accurate description of this rapper who has hovered just below the surface of the Philadelphia rap scene for the past several years and has gained a loyal if not large following.

  Kamachi's strength is blending hood stories with messages about life's bigger picture. "The Edge" and "This Man" are two tracks where Kamachi is at his best, with the latter containing a masterful sample reminiscent of Camron's "Oh Boy" provided by up and coming Philly producer and morning radio personality S.Dot (State Property).

"Queen", the obligatory ladies song, is a definite banger for the females with lines like, "Nubian Queen pink and yellow dashiki and jeans/ look in her eyes like looking at Nile Valley Streams/ All I visualize is a wedding with and African theme"

The most notable guest appearance is by Guru of Gangstarr with his laidback "been there done that" flow that is a perfect compliment to the gruff bars spit by Kamachi on, "The Best". Guru definitely steals the show on this collabo but Kamachi gets his point across in the first and final verses on the song and shows the maturity to allow "Gifted Uplifted Rhymes Universal" to have his moment.

Charon Don of Kamachi's, JuJu Mob crew, also displays an impeccable flow on "Peddlin' Music". Charon's first two lines set it off, "Crem de la Crim raised on De La and Rakim/ Judge me not cause you ain't never saw where I been" , and he continues to represent on a hard hitting piano and drum track produced by E. Dan and DJ Huggy.

Kamachi shows a sense of humor in the untitled skit at the end of "Hating On My Halo", by lampooning the stereotypical "backpack rapper" who spits esoteric rhymes. Kamachi, Mr. Eon and State Store of JuJu Mob then combine for "What You Doin'", a prototypical anti commercial rap song that is elevated by excellent production from E. Dan and DJ Huggy and the best hook on the album growled by Kamachi.

"#13" featuring Reef the Lost Cauze is another solid effort with Kamachi unleashing his flow over melodic flutes. With the JuJu Mob 3 for 3 on the Kamachi album you have to wonder why Good Hands decided on a solo release instead of a group album.

The only low light is the albums first song, which is brought down by Kamachi's heavy-handed attempt at verbal gymnastics and overly stylized intro.

Overall Chief Kamachi's solo debut proves that Philadelphia's underground rap scene is on the rise, and that Kamachi and JuJu Mob may be the group to cross the Mason Dixon Line of rap culture and plant their flag on the mainstream.  

The album gets a 4 on the Geoglobe scale.

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