If you were to collect together the coolest fragmnents of of pop culture (both black and white)since the 50's and put them all together ina blender,without deliberatly trying to make an album that was consciously doing so, then this is the end product you would have.

New kingdom dont ever sound like contrived culture vultures,,this is not crossover,its hip hop,but at the same time its not..so what is it???

Perhaps im overstating but i would say this is a true landmark in music history, as it that cannot be compared to any other album out there.Some albums or acts spawn a genre after them,but with new kingdom they created and ended a genre,a genre that no one else can duplicate again.

Anyone who achieves this in the modern age can quite justifiably be called genius.

Simply put: Flat-out one of the best, most bad-ass albums a person can own. Even in 2004, there is nothing like this, then or since.

What the hell is this *ish*?!!?! I have no idea who these guys are or what planet they hail from but this CD is some of the thickest, grittiest, most surreal-ass fohnkeh hip hop you are likely to ever have droppped on you like the proverbial cartoon piano/anvil gene-spliced hybrid...

"We arrive on you shores, like con-quest-a-doors..."

Shards of distortion, warped bluuesy wailing guitars, little odd knickknacks, fuzzed-out boomin bass lines, sinsister organs with venom dripping from the keys and more fat beats than you could ever plumb the depths of.... Their lyrics are ominous and at times senseless, random and circuitous, bizare, referencing whatever comes into the MC's mind- be it the muppets or enlightenment or Bruce Lee... this is like recalling the worst trip you ever had, but an experience you wouldn't trade for nothing... I just can't say enough about this. So much hip hop is just stupid and shallow. This is The Funk beamed back to us through the headlights of the dark matter mothership. She's comin ever closer...

"Animal was my favorite drumma, I couldn't get Kurt off my mind that summa, I lay in a tent in the middle of a big ole garage my mind ain't nothin but big ole collage, kids, come a little closer- once had a poster: Jimi Hendrix on a horse with a pistol and a holster..." You dig... it just gets nuttier from there.

If you dig the early Cypress Hill stuff and the Beasties middle period stuff then you should just pick up a used copy of this. Production wise it reminds one of Cypress HIll's first one. Their other CD "heavy Load" is good too, but more starightforward- not as out there.

This album is genius. All tracks- SOLID.

I am 28 and have listened to hip-hop since I was 7, this is an awesome album!!!!!I first heard of N.K. when I saw them perform at a South By Southwest in '95. They would not stop playing, and nobody wanted them to. The sound man had to pull the power! Pure genius is harldly recognized w/ todays musical industry ways of bizzness, no wonder you've never heard of New Kingdom. If they had britt.spears' agent most mainstream rap would be crippled.

New Kingdom are one of my favorite groups. This album sounds heavier, and noisier, and weirder than the first, and it's great. If I had to compare it, I'd say it is similar to Beastie Boys "Check Your Head", but I don't often listen to "Check..." while I listen to "Paradise..." almost every day. There have been a lot of groups that supposedly blend hip-hop and rock elements,and I was disappointed with about all of them, but to me New Kingdom stands out. They are hard without sounding metal. They have a definite hip-hop musical base, and they are weird without sounding TOO weird. I recommend them for anyone who wants to hear hip-hop based music which is just way out there.