When it comes to music with Isaiah Toothtaker, what's his is his and what's yours is his. He's jacked beats from the Super Duck Breaks record. He's titled a song "Faith No More". Along with producer Sixtoo, he fashioned himself among the seapunk movement. But I doubt anyone thought he was presumptous enough to title a record Illmatic 2, writing "handled that for him" (the him being Nas) on Toothtaker's Bandcamp.
The opening cut of Illmatic 2 is "Midnight", which is presented above by Toothtaker in a purgatorial scenario with a customized hunting knife (it has a tooth on the handle) in his hand. He is joined by a pale woman in white holding a mannequin head. Nas might have gone to hell when he was twelve for snuffing Jesus, but Toothtaker's jar of teeth has earned him a place where one's faith is tested.
"Midnight" sounds as though Steel Tipped Dove produced it with Toothtaker in mind. It's a twisted take on bedroom pop that is haunted by Toothtaker's presence rather than verbosely rapped over. For a record called Illmatic 2, it's not the "The Genesis" one expects, but in reading the liner notes we've learned the title was a suggestion from a fan in the comments section on Facebook.
Hear the entirety of Illmatic 2 here.
