The War Report

Infobox Album
Name = The War Report
Type = Studio album
Artist = Capone-N-Noreaga


Released = June 17, 1997
Recorded = 1996 - 1997
Genre = Hip Hop
Length = 70:43
Label = Penalty/Tommy Boy/Warner Bros. Records
03041
Producer = Charlemagne
EZ Elpee
Nashiem Myrick
Carlos "6 July" Broady
Naughty Shorts
Tragedy Khadafi
G-Money
Buckwild
Lord Finesse
Marley Marl
DJ Clark Kent
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0bfexqyhldse link]
*The Source Rating|4|5 [http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1116042&BAB=M link]
Last album =
This album = "The War Report"
(1997)
Next album = "The Reunion"
(2000)

"The War Report" is the influential debut album by the hip hop duo Capone-N-Noreaga (C-N-N for short). The album features C-N-N classics "L.A. L.A.", "T.O.N.Y", "Neva Die Alone", "Driver's Seat", "Illegal Life", "Capone Bone", "Bloody Money", "Closer", "Iraq (See The World)", and Noreaga's dedication to Capone"Live on Live Long". Tragedy Khadafi was in many ways the mastermind behind the project and was at the time considered an un-official 3rd member, he appears on more than half of the albums songs. Other guest appearances include Imam Thug, Castro, Mussolini, Mendosa, Troy Outlaw, Mobb Deep, and Busta Rhymes. Despite its strong underground-overtones, the album was surprisingly a commercial success, making the Rap/R&B Top Five.

ignificance and Impact

Considered a street classic by many, "The War Report's" signature sound was distinctively underground and hardcore for its time, a trademark that garnered the group outstanding street credibility. The unique chemistry of Noreaga's unorthodox lyrical delivery combined with Capone's streetwise slang, established the duo as a household name within the hardcore hip hop community. Furthermore, the album created a large and devoted cult following for the group, and launched the solo career of Noreaga, who subsequently went on to achieve a large degree of mainstream success (most notably with the Neptunes-produced club anthem "Superthug").

More importantly, "The War Report" is often credited with reviving East Coast and hardcore hip hop, signaling a return to realistic and gritty hardcore street aesthetics (defined by unapologetic tales of violence and drugs) and spelling an end to the surrealistic, ostentatious, and fictional narratives of Mafioso rap. Beginning in the end of 1996 and throughout 1997 (during the commercial height of Puff Daddy's pop-oriented Bad Boy Records), mafioso hip-hop gradually lost its critical acclaim within the underground scene from which it originated. As it crossed over into the mainstream, the concept was becoming increasingly generic and comatose (as seen with the hip hop supergroup , which rhymed almost exclusively about Mafioso fantasies). Upon the release of "The War Report", however, Capone and Noreaga brought new life into the gangsta rap sub-genre, becoming an instant underground phenomenon that foreshadowed the rise of similarly styled emcees who went on to cross into the mainstream for the remainder of the late 1990s (i.e. DMX and Ja Rule) and into the following decade (i.e. 50 Cent and Jadakiss).

On a side note, an interesting aspect of this album is the Islamic references made by Noreaga and Tragedy Khadafi. "Allahu Akhbar, AlhamduliLah, AstagfirLah," among other forms of Islamic Dhikr, can be heard on various tracks throughout the CD. Tragedy says "La ilaha ilaLah (ilaLah)" on "L.A. L.A." These are not references to traditional Islam, however, because they are members of the Nation of Gods and Earths.

Track listing