Trademark Da Skydiver is a New Orleans hip hop maven who has made a bit of name for himself via mixtapes and a deluge of music videos on You Tube. Undoubtedly proud of his home town, Trademark has made his New Orleans his base and become a juggernaut in the South East. His new album, Super Villain Issue #3: Reign Supreme boasts a laundry list of guest stars including Curren$y, Smoke DZA, Young Roddy, and more. Calling himself a villain and a gentleman, Trademark takes indie hop back on the streets and roughs it up a bit but still respects it enough to know that you can be a force to reckoned with even without major label support.
For the most part, Super Villain Issue #3: Reign Supreme is a good record. This is grimy, unpolished, raw hip hop that features some of the darkest, starkest, and at times jazziest beats I've ever heard, courtesy of Ski Beatz and Monster Beatz. The production powers this record and charges the rhymes like a nuclear power plant and allows Trademark and his numerous guests to fly through rhymes like a hot knife through butter. The flow is flawless but the fact that these guys seem so obsessed with pot becomes a bit too cliche for its own good and drags the quality of Super Villain Issue #3: Reign Supreme down a notch or two. That being said, when Trademark is on it (and not the chronic), he's on it...see "I'm Sayin," as a prime example.
Taking the middle ground between being commercial and being fiercely independent, Trademark has come up with a record that seems destined for big things while retaining his independent credibility. Super Villain Issue #3: Reign Supreme is rough stuff that kicks some serious bootay all over post-Katrina New Orleans. Trademark's coarse and stark rhymes as well as Ski Beatz's minimal production really make Super Villain Issue #3: Reign Supreme something to sit and pay attention to; it's a fine record that's so close to breaking out, you can almost feel it.
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