Mixerr Album Reviews #2,205

The Dark Side was one of MC Overlord’s best selling albums to date. The album sold 35,000 units thanks to distribution from Select-O-Hits. It was thanks to distribution that the album was a commercial hit in Austin, Texas and St. Louis, Missouri. The album has a much darker sound than his 1995 album A Better Funk did. This album leans more towards funk and hardcore hip hop than old school hip hop/rap. This album also uses live instrumentation which is backed by a live band.

The album focuses on bison towards strength, unity, and positivity. Unity and positivity are the common themes for this album. We must face our struggles and get to our destiny that lies ahead of us. That is not to say there will never be dark times.


The Dark Side is one of Overlord’s darker songs from a time when he was young and hungry. His mind and priorities were focusing on music. The Dark Side is backed by heavy bass and live instrumentation performed by a live band. Now this song was based on classic horror film Tales From The Dark Side. All of the lyrics were written by MC Overlord.

Now what’s different about this song is the way MC Overlord used Jamaican Patois accent. He almost sounded very much to a reggae dancehall artist or a gangsta rapper. You can hear such rawness and versatility in his vocals and lyrics. Overlord is your guide that will introduce you to the dark side.

Prepare for the rebirth as he rehearses for his comeback. Practice is perfect. These lyrics show how Overlord maintains his status in the rap game. “Watch as I work this/Maintainin’ status/And refuse to reverse it/Heavy like thunder/No drag me under/Not to be dumb and dumber/Fate of a black man/Offer my black hand”

These lyrics explain the stance Overlord has against selling out and becoming a gangster rapper.

Here to stay true to the next level
Remain positive instead of playin’ Dr. Jeckyl
Cause gangsters are popular
Why would I copy ya just to sell a record?
And pretend I’m the Mafia/That’s where you sell out
How you gonna get out when they bring drama?

He calls out fakers and posers in these lyrics. So try to pay attention and understand where he is coming from. “Now you a bust/How can they trust ya?/A studio phony/With crony out to get ya/Should have stayed real/Here lies a wanna be fronting’ on his own click”


Ter’ell Shahid and MC Overlord bring the mad flava to the funky flavor of this with the song Down Low. Funk meets rap on Down Low. The guitars and bass help bring out the funky flavor on this song.

The premise of the song is MC Overlord and Ter’ell Shahid just hanging out. There’s no need to hang out on the down low when you’re with them. Save that clout for someone else or something else. So come on and get up off the down low.


Get Used To It is another one of the more darker songs off the album. The sound is similar to The Dark Side due to the thick bass and heavy guitar notes. Thick bass is what really stands out in retrospect and style. That is not a coincidence as both The Dark Side and Get Used To It were written and recorded during the same studio session.

Overlord is tired of the same rhetoric cheap talk. Talk is cheap. These lyrics explain so otherwise. “Cause I’m tired of all that rhetoric cheap talk”

Chains and shackles could never hold Overlord down. His efforts are catching up to/with him. Overlord flipped the script for the 90s. He sure did. We need solutions in life as we are loosing ground here. There needs to be a plan. We need to take a risk so we can get used to this plan.  

I rate this album 4/5****!