Hieroglyphics – All Said and Done 2xLP

Hiero Imperium (2026)

Every Wednesday, in honor of Ed Lover Dance Day from Yo! MTV Raps, I take a break from rock and roll to write a little bit about hip hop. In the late 80s and early 90s hip hop ruled my musical life. During this often called 'Golden Era' I discovered so much incredible music. As I am slowly replacing the CDs I've had for thirty plus years with vinyl copies, I'm going to talk about some albums that had a really important impact on me during some very formative years.

When I think about my personal experience with the golden era of hip hip, nothing shines brighter for me than the Hieroglyphics crew.  When you have a group of MCs that includes Del The Funky Homosapien, Casual, Souls of Mischief and, sure, Pep Love, the quality level is kind of off the charts.  From 1993 to 1994 various members of the crew released my three favorite hip hop records ever.  They hit a peak in hop hop so high, I guess there was nowhere to go but down from there, at least for me.  

Hiero came together and put out their first collaborative album with 1997's 3rd Eye Vision.  While it doesn't click for me the same way I'm sure it would have if they had made it in 1994 with that year's production sounds, it's still a pretty great record, if not maybe a little too long for its own good.  They've had a few other albums since then that all have highs and lows, often based around the production which I will ready admit has moved past me as I am perpetually stuck in the sounds of 1987-1994.

All Said And Done is the crew's first album together in 13 years and it's easily their best since 3rd Eye Vision.  The production is primarily handled by Domino and A Plus and while it does still tend to be on the slower side of things, which isn't always my favorite, it's as good as anything that kind of sits at this tempo and style.  It's each of the MCs that elevates this album to being something that I actually want to listen to in 2026.

Of course Del is flawless every time he touches the mic.  At this stage that's sort of a given, but it's still always impressive to see. I really feel like Casual is the MVP of this album, taking on some heavy lifting on a whole lot of songs and knocking it out of the park every time.  Tajai from Souls Of Mischief is another one that I don't always think gets the credit he deserves for how good he is and he contributes several notable bars.  That's not to discredit anyone else involved, everyone in Hiero is top tier and they all do a great job when it's their turn.  I just wish the production was a little more fun and upbeat.  That's the only thing that keeps this album from being a new classic for me.

Hieroglyphics – All Said and Done:

https://hieroglyphicsimperium.bandcamp.com/album/all-said-and-done