By: Joseph VanBuren
Rating: 6/11 

Representing Queens, H.E.C. (Hurtin Every Critik) holds his own as a street rapper, but falls victim to the same awkward trend as so many other underground MCs. The pressure of following successful formulas in commercial rap often forces up-and-comers to try to imitate what’s hot. This is when hip hop becomes dishonest and harder to enjoy. Luckily, H.E.C. only does this on a couple of tracks. When he’s keeping it real and sticking to beats and rhymes that are less polished, he proves to be a decent rapper with a tight delivery, even if his lyrics aren’t always very original in content. H.E.C. shines most in the tracks “Death Row” and the cleverly titled “Meet Ja Maica,” in which he speaks about dealing with the harsh realities of street life. His emphasis on violence might be a little much for some listeners, but honestly it’s when he’s coming from this angle that his lyrics are the most skillfully structured and seemingly sincere. When he goes in a more commercial, club music direction, as in the song “Black Berry,” that’s when he falls flat. Some of H.E.C.’s tracks from the Death Row mixtape are of homemade-recording quality, but fans of raw, underground hip hop aren’t likely to hold that against him. When they get to that “Black Berry” song, though, that might be a different story.