The noir hop originator Zilla Rocca returns with “Party With Villains EP”, a good, swift, and violent seven track release inspired by crimes and criminals of Philadelphia (“Ron Previte”), pop culture (“Clay Davis”), and athletics (“The Q and the A”).

“Party With Villains” means smiling at the friendly wolves who just might nip at your neck tomorrow. Growing up during the South Philadelphia Mob Wars of the ’80s and ’90s under noted mafia kings Nicky Scarfo, Ralph Natale, and Joey Merlino, Zilla Rocca has channeled the commonly accepted brutal history of his backyard into another lean project of deft storytelling and leather worn zen, this time with an eye for local watering holes (“12 Steps Down”), the turmoil of La Cosa Nostra’s mayhem (“Don’t Make Headlines, Make Money”), and embracing your town’s history rather than judging it (“Nothing in the Bank”).

Longtime collaborators the Wrecking Crew (Curly Castro x Has-Lo x Small Professor), Nex Millen, Mally, and Alex Ludovico were chosen like trusted grease men for a bank heist, while newcomers Alpha 1and The Expert were outside hitters called in to join the party.