Cannibal Ox - "Harlem Knights" (Official Music Video)

Cannibal Ox are one of those storied rap legends that seem to perpetually hint at greatness. Once, they truly were great, and a slow trickle of follow-ups have had fans ever-hopeful that the Harlem duo of Vast Aire and Vordul Mega would release something that rivaled their sole, iconic album The Cold Vein. Back when I was a newcomer to New York, music writing, and rap itself, one of my good friends took me as his guest to the Cannibal Ox reemergence show at the Knitting Factory in Williamsburg in December of 2012. As our coverage of the concert noted, the show was something of a flop for hopefuls, and my friend and I both left early. Yet, at the top of this year, the duo determinedly announced their new album The Blade Of The Ronin. Sans producer El-P and the support of Def Jux, the record barely left a dent in 2015’s stacked-to-heaven release schedule. Still, having legendary members of New York’s music scene back and making new music is not necessarily a bad thing. “Harlem Knights” pays tribute to the pair’s uptown roots, and they’ve released a stark, ominous video directed by Steven Tapia to accompany it. This is the first visual for Cannibal Ox material since “Painkillers” came out in 2001.