De La Soul - Stakes Is High (July 2, 1996)

The last time I wrote about De La Soul was back in August of 2009.  Seriously.  I realize that doesn't sound appropriate: I'm actually surprised at how long ago it was.  I swear I was jotting down my notes on Buhloone Mindstate just yesterday.  But the proof can be found right there on the sidebar with one click.  I suppose I don't really have much of an excuse, but now is as good a time as any to revisit one of the founding members of the Native Tongues movement, so here we go.

De La Soul's fourth album, Stakes Is High, dropped in 1996, three years after their previous effort, the aforementioned Buhloone Mindstate, polarized their audience.  Although the trio still consisted of Posdnuos, Trugoy the Dove, and Maseo, and they were still signed to Tommy Boy Records, there were some marked differences between this effort and their other releases.  For one, Trugoy decided that he liked the rap name "Dave" better.  And Stakes Is High features the group at their angriest: although De La Soul Is Dead and Buhloone Mindstate found De La fighting the stigma of being hip hop's resident hippies (thanks to the response to their debut, 3 Feet High and Rising), this project was a reactionary one, targeting the issues they were having with the rap music of the day, which ditched creativity and nuance in favor of materialism, sexism, and organized crime, making this a far cry from the happy-go-lucky songs from their freshman effort.  

But the most noticeable difference between this product and De La Soul's past work was, of course, the absence of their longtime producer (and unofficial fourth member), Prince Paul.  The breakup appeared to be amicable: in fact, Pos and Dave still turn up on Prince Paul's many side projects to this day.  But it was time for the group to switch up its approach, and they felt the best way to accomplish that was to change its sound: Paul doesn't even manage to score one production credit on Stakes Is High.  De La Soul was fucking serious about their craft this time around: save for a few tracks, they even handled all of the musical backing themselves.

Stakes Is High didn't sell very well (a major label album lashing out at commercialism isn't exactly going to do well commercially itself, you see), but it was very highly acclaimed by music critics, most of whom ranked it among their best work.  There are even folks out there who believe it to be their best work.  While I don't fall into the latter category, I can say this: Stakes Is High was the first De La Soul album I ever purchased, and even though my younger self was more prone to skipping tracks within the first two seconds than I am now, what I heard was still good enough to warrant me looking into their back catalog as soon as I could.  (The association with Prince Paul, admittedly, played a strong supporting role in that.)

Longtime readers may recall that there was actually a Reader Review of Stakes Is High published way back in July of 2009.  However, this write-up is not intended to signify that I'm now going to write up every single album that you two have reviewed.  I just believe that I have something worth saying (and reading) about the project, and enough time has passed that I can write this post without fear of it being influenced by Jos-B's original review.  

Also, only two people commented on his Stakes Is High write-up.  The fuck?  De La Soul are fucking legends!  Hopefully this newer post will garner a bit more appreciation.

1. INTRO

After a documentary-style intro, featuring faceless voices discussing where they were wand how they felt when they first listened to Criminal Minded from Boogie Down productions, a minimalist drum track kicks in for Pos and Dave to destroy. Already with this intro, you find that Prince Paul's influence has officially left the building, as this sounds nothing like De La's first three albums, and yet, it still rocks. Maybe these guys don't always need to have Paul hanging around. This intro is notorious for inciting a goofy beef between Treach (of Naughty By Nature and softcore porn fame) and Posdnuos, because of the latter's “Stick to your Naughty By Natures and your Kanes” line, which Treach misheard as a correlation between liking Naughty and being high on Charlie Sheen, as the line directly before that talks about weed. I understand they actually had a physical altercation because of it. Misinterpretation can be a bitch, right?

2. SUPA EMCEES

This track goes a long way toward eradicating the “hip hop hippies” label that De La have had affixed to their collective forehead ever since 3 Feet High and Rising dropped. Over a fucking dope beat, Dave and Pos each take a single verse to display their mic prowess, thereby helping to explain what they're still doing in the rap game after having already released three critically-acclaimed albums. Pos uses a single line to bring relevancy back to his crew: “While others are representing, I present my rep”. Which says everything you need to know about this song, really. Pretty fucking good.

3. THE BIZNESS (FEAT. COMMON)

“The Bizness” was actually my introduction to the Stakes Is High project: I heard it on the radio, and its stark, hypnotic minimalism put me in a chokehold, refusing to release me and allow oxygen into my lungs until I bought the goddamn album. The track still works today, too: De La Soul's collaboration with Common, a like-minded artist in the field of “conscious” rap when he isn't obsessed with getting his dick sucked, knocks with the best of them, and the Craig Mack sound bite at the beginning, taken from his “Get Down”, even fits in pretty nicely. There is no standout here: each rapper brings the best out of the others involved, so all three end up sounding great, although you'll probably remember Lonnie's verse more, thanks to his censored comment about Olympic swimmer Greg Louganis and his “sick ass” (Louganis is HIV-positive), which goes a bit off-color for Common, which might be why it was censored in the first place. De La even found a way to fit two interludes between “The Bizness” and the next track, so that was...okay, that was actually unnecessary, but one of those interludes is a verse, so it's not a complete waste of time.

4. WONCE AGAIN LONG ISLAND

When I bought Stakes Is High back in 1996, this was always the point where I started skipping ahead, but in listening to it today, it turns out that I was a fucking idiot when I was younger, as this Posdnuos solo shot is really good. Plug One goes for broke over three verses, sounding like the rarest of all creatures: the seasoned veteran who hasn't yet run out of ideas. The instrumental is pretty good, and it evolves as the track goes on (I think I might have heard a swatch of the same song that was used for the “Hip Hop Remix” of The Notorious B.I.G.'s “One More Chance”). While Dave is missed, this shit still rocked.

5. DINNINIT

My younger self may have been correct about this song, though, as “Dinninit” sounds about as boring as I remember. My issue isn't so much with the lyrics, which are as playful as ever (Trugoy professes his love for various R&B singers (although two out of the three artists he names on here would have been traded out for others had this been recorded today – guess which two!) while Pos goes out of his way to explain how much he hates “busters...unless their name is Busta Rhymes”), but with Spearhead X's instrumental, which doesn't fit the sound established thus far on Stakes Is High, nor does it match the urgency that the album title suggests. Also, the song's very name is pretty fucking stupid. That is all.

6. BRAKES

“Brakes” fares a bit better than I originally gave it credit for. Utilizing a piano-dominated instrumental, Pos and Dave attempt to evoke the feeling of old school hip hop, most specifically referring to a certain Kurtis Blow song whose title is a homonym of “Brakes” with a “The” thrown in front. It sounds ridiculous and impossible to remind listeners of the feel-good party atmosphere of the golden age in our chosen genre while using a beat that sounds so cold and modern (and perfect to leave on the radio when you're doing chores around the house, another visual image De La evokes on here), but the trio manage to pull it off, turning “Brakes” into a nostalgic drive back into your old neighborhood, the one that you would absolutely positively never want to live in again, but is good to see every once in a while.

7. DOG EAT DOG

I didn't care for this song. I appreciate the concept: I get that De La Soul recorded Stakes Is High as a response to how they felt hip hop was being mistreated during the Puff Daddy jiggy era, and this song is just one of many direct attacks (Dave's verse is, anyway). But the hook is terrible. And since Dave runs through it four fucking times before the first verse even begins, you'll be tempted to cut the cord immediately and skip ahead to the next track. Go with your gut on this one.

8. BABY BABY BABY BABY OHH BABY

This satirical track, which is really more of an interlude, is an obvious potshot at the radio-friendly, sample-heavy rap songs that were flooding the airwaves at the time, but the thing is, it kind of holds up on its own, especially if you're already in on the joke. The cameo from Fatman Scoop at the end only adds to the ambiance.

9. LONG ISLAND DEGREES

Meh.

10. BETTA LISTEN

The brief interlude at the end of “Long Island Degrees” doesn't really lead into this track, but De La attempt to force a connection anyway, with discouraging results. Combined with the previous track, De La Soul has brought listeners a one-two punch of mediocrity. It is what it is.

11. ITZSOWEEZEE (HOT)

The recipient of the second video from the Stakes Is High publicity machine helps right the ship, as Dave goes for dolo, chastising all other rappers by questioning their obsession and dependence on organized crime (“Them Cubans don't care what y'all n----z do / Colombians ain't never ran with your crew...The only Italian you know is Ice-y”) over a simple instrumental that helps punctuate just how silly New York hip hop was back in 1996. As Dave's argument has merit, the song is that much better in my mind (and ears). Still holds up well today, too. I've never cared too much for the remix featuring Truth Enola, though.

12. 4 MORE (FEAT. ZHANE)

I couldn't really get into this song. Although De La Soul are no strangers to hiring R&B singers for their hooks (“A Roller Skating Jam Named 'Saturdays'” is still one of the greatest De La songs ever recorded), calling in the duo Zhane is a mixed blessing, as they sound decent enough, but not so much that “4 More” actually fits with the rest of Stakes Is High. If anything, this track sounds like a forfeit: De La is now tired of fighting the good fight and will now fall in line with all other rappers who want their shit played on the radio.

13. BIG BROTHER BEAT (FEAT. MOS DEF)

Although this was never an official single, “Big Brother Beat” will be forever referred to in the hip hop history books as the song that introduced Mos Def to a wider audience, and for a relative newcomer, it's amazing how fully formed he sounded right out of the gate. Skeff Anslem's instrumental is a mini-masterpiece of simplicity, which makes sense when you realize that he already has previous experience working with fellow Native Tongues founders A Tribe Called Quest. I found the song to still be fun and engaging today, even if the lyrics themselves are a bit slight.

14. DOWN SYNDROME

The sneak preview aired after “The Bizness” (which was, admittedly, not set up as foreshadowing or anything) finally pays off in the form of the full song. Pos and Dave ignore traditional song structure norms in favor of spitting their rhymes with brute force, which makes the track entertaining while still sounding out of place for a crew calling themselves De La Soul. Even with the hint provided earlier, I had completely forgotten about the existence of this song, so it was nice to throw into the mix as a way to lead up to the massive title track.

15. PONY RIDE (FEAT. TRUTH ENOLA)

But before we can get to “Stakes Is High”, we have to politely sit through this exercise in futility, which features Pos and Dave rhyming over an instrumental that doesn't suit their style, while a Truth Enola guest verse (laid over an entirely different beat) is shoehorned into the middle of the track, like the creamy center of a sandwich cookie that tastes like ass. Although the interlude at the end eventually leads into the next song, it's best for everyone involved to simply hit that “skip” button...now.

16. STAKES IS HIGH

De La Soul's manifesto-masquerading-as-a-title-track features Pos and Dave at their angriest, upset at how hip hop has glorified violence and wealth, treating them as the main focus instead of actively trying to make better-sounding music. (Dave, in particular, is “sick of R&B bitches over bullshit tracks”. Um, “4 More” much?) De La co-produced this song with the late J. Dilla, and their combined efforts are displayed in a powerful anthem-like offering that may not provide much in the way of solutions, but at least acknowledges that we have a motherfucking problem. Because acceptance is the first step toward getting help, you see. The interludes bookending the track weren't really necessary, though.

17. SUNSHINE

The one thing I remember clearly from Jos-B's Reader Review of Stakes Is High is that he really loved the final song, “Sunshine”. Personally, I don't see it: the music is pleasant and all, but not enough so to ground the bombastic heights of the previous track. It's as though “Sunshine” is meant to be a theme for a victorious effort, but De La Soul have hardly won anything. (Addressing the problem is very much appreciated, but the cynic in me would like to point out that hip hop has only gotten worse since Stakes Is High dropped.) However, I loved how the ending of the track takes us right back to the beginning of the album, with the talking heads now discussing 3 Feet High and Rising instead of Criminal Minded. Circle of life, and all that shit.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Okay, I was a bit harsh on Stakes Is High during the second half, but that's just because I really wanted it to sound better than it truly does. However, even with their missteps, De La Soul prove without a doubt that they are capable of operating without the Prince Paul filter, turning in a product that has several outright bangers and that sounds more consistent than Buhloone Mindstate. Although Posdnuos mentions during the title track that “the Native Tongues have officially been reinstated”, that doesn't mean that Stakes Is High is a straight-through conscious effort: in fact, Pos, Dave, and Maseo (mostly resigned to production on Stakes Is High) spend the majority of the album's runtime really fucking pissed off at the new direction hip hop has taken during their brief absence. The playfulness of 3 Feet High and Rising is sorely missed, but then again, De La Soul haven't been feel-good artists for several albums now. Stakes Is High may not sound as urgent as it did back in 1996, but it is an entertaining album that deserves more attention from today's audience than it's been receiving.

BUY OR BURN? Buy this album and listen to it while wondering if there will ever be an official Native Tongues re-reunion. (The answer is no, by the way.) It'll help you pass the time, and you'll be listening to some good music to boot.

BEST TRACKS: “Stakes Is High”; “Big Brother Beat”; “The Bizness”; “Brakes”; “Wonce Again Long Island”; “Supa Emcees”; “Down Syndrome”; “Intro” (yeah, that's right, I listed the fucking intro)

-Max

RELATED POSTS:

Here's a link to all of the previous De La Soul posts, including the Reader review of Stakes Is High. Enjoy!

For Promotional Use Only: Pusha T - Fear Of God (2011)

I had originally planned on running this review last week, but shit kept getting in the way.  Wait, why am I explaining anything?  There's no real rhyme or reason to the order these things run in.  I guess the only thing I'm half-assedly apologizing for is for running another LL Cool J review, although there are still plenty of those to come (eventually), so you two have that to (not) look forward to.

Anyway, Pusha T, one half of Virginla coke rap enthusiasts the Clipse, dropped his solo mixtape debut, Fear Of God, last week, in an effort to capitalize off of his prominent placement on two of his new boss Kanye West's tracks off of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.  His signing to G.O.O.D. Music last year came as a surprise to everybody who expected Pusha to stand by idly while his hometown friend, production team The Neptunes, turned their career back around, which is to say, it mainly surprised me, only because I prefer to hear him over Pharrell and Chad's stark beats.

Pusha T's solo venture was expedited by his brother Malice's decision to drop out of the limelight for a while, electing instead to write a book about his newfound spirituality.  As he was still interested in rhyming (and, I don't know, earning money to pay for everyday supplies and shit), Pusha T spent his days and nights at the factory, dropping verses as casually as someone may drop some pennies into a fountain at the mall.  Fear Of God is the culmination of his solo hustle, a free mixtape (sequenced like an album) intended to satiate his fans while he works on his actual solo debut, which, given the Clipse's rocky history with their various record labels, will probably see its release around the same time Sarah Palin signs a deal with Mark Ronson.

Fear Of God, compiled without the presence of an annoying deejay on the microphone, features cameo appearances from a handful of hip hop's more popular artists; surprisingly, aside from one obvious inclusion, none of them are members of his new G.O.O.D. Music family.  About half of the album includes original tracks, but the other half feature freestyles over stolen instrumentals, which made it absolutely impossible for Pusha T to even think about asking for any money for this project.  Fear Of God hits the Interweb with the high hope that it will somehow elevate Pusha T's solo career and stir up interest for whatever the man does next.

Will it?

1. INTRO

Show of hands if you were shocked to discover a Scarface sound bite on a mixtape from one of the premiere artists in coke rap. Nobody? Okay then. Moving on...

2. MY GOD

Odds are pretty good that, if you read this blog, then you probably also follow other sites, and as such, you've already heard “My God”. Producer Hitboy (who really hit it “big” (relatively speaking) with his work on Kanye West's “Christmas In Harlem”) is appropriately bombastic, allowing Pusha T to string punchlines together as though they somehow formed a coherent verse or two. As a song, “My God” is an interesting freestyle, comprising of two sections that manage to sound menacing and celebratory even though our host is talking about less than nothing. Pusha sounds great doing so, though, so this song gets a pass, although it pales when compared to his solo work alongside his boss, the aforementioned West (I'm thinking specifically of “So Appalled”). I did enjoy the “time bandit” joke, though.

3. I STILL WANNA (FEAT. RICK ROSS & AB-LIVA)

And just like that, Fear Of God takes a fucking nosedive. Surprisingly, though, the severe drop in quality has absolutely nothing to do with the guest appearance from Officer Richard Ross: in fact, the Inkredibles instrumental sounds like something he probably would have used himself under different circumstances, as he at least sounds comfortable. No, the failure of “I Still Wanna” falls squarely on Pusha T's shoulders: the beat alienates him, and our host overcompensates by barking his orders directly to the audience, with almost none of it coming across as remotely entertaining. Not even the pseudo-reunion between Re-Up Gang coworkers Pusha and Ab-Liva can salvage this shit. Sigh.

4. MONEY ON MY MIND FREESTYLE

This freestyle over Lil Wayne's “Money On My Mind” would have probably worked better for me had I been familiar with the source material. (As it is, I only listened to the original track after completing that last sentence, and you can imagine that I wasn't very happy afterward.) But then again, Pusha T tempts fate by dropping a Kate Gosselin reference within his first few bars: even though that shit is dated as hell, it's still, by all accounts, inexcusable. This track wasn't very memorable for me.

5. FEELING MYSELF (FEAT. KEVIN COSSUM)

After reading that song title, I had anticipated some sort of rebuttal or denial, so that Pusha T's fans didn't suddenly believe that this track was about masturbation. (Well, not about that kind of masturbation, anyway.) I just didn't expect it to come in the very first line from the guest star, Kevin Cossum, who actually sings the word “pause”, which has become the verbal equivalent of a Jim Halpert-esque deadpan stare-slash-smirk at the camera, except that it's only used whenever a rapper says something that could attract homophobic comments. Which is a long-winded way for me to say that the chorus on here was really fucking stupid: if you feel the need to defend yourself before you even write down your first bar, you've already lost the battle. Pusha's lyrics don't really help the cause, either. This shit was terrible.

6. BLOW (FUNK FLEX FREESTYLE)

Although this is labeled as a freestyle, Pusha's verse, set to the beat of an unknown producer whose name our host seems to have lost, sounds like a decent enough performance to make the final cut of someone else's solo album. Or maybe that's just me: I personally liked the fact that he mentioned his brother's musical hiatus, which ultimately resulted in me writing a review of a Pusha T solo mixtape that wouldn't have existed otherwise. (Circle of life, and all that.) Although our host sounded pretty good, though, the less said about the crappy instrumental, the better. (Maybe Pusha didn't lose the man's name: perhaps he went into hiding.)

7. COOK IT DOWN FREESTYLE

Pusha draws from Bun B's Drake-assisted “Put It Down” for inspiration, turning the track into yet another ode to cocaine (albeit an indirect one). However, it actually works (Pusha's Auto-Tuned singing on the hook notwithstanding), so it makes sense why our host felt it appropriate to shoot a music video for a mixtape freestyle...from a free compilation...that he couldn't collect money for anyway, due to all of the uncleared samples contained within. Shit, Pusha T may as well have written me a check directly for listening to this (catchy) song: at least the money would have gone to better use.

8. OPEN YOUR EYES

Producer Nottz utilizes a sped-up vocal sample from Queen's “Bohemian Rhapsody” for this low-key mission statement, on which Pusha T sets the stage for what we, the audience, is about to experience. Aside from the fact that this introductory salvo (that's what it feels like to me, anyway) takes place in the middle of the fucking album, this is a solid effort, one where the highly recognizable sample isn't quite as distracting as you would expect. Pusha delivers two mature verses that signal the possibility of a fruitful solo career. Now if only he would spend his money on some actual good beats.

9. CAN I LIVE FREESTYLE

Pusha reaches into his Wayback Machine and pulls out the instrumental for the early Jay-Z song “Can I Live” (complete with some of Hova's vocals) to (a) bring to us a solid verse that now has me convinced that he absolutely has to score a Jay-Z feature on his actual album (I'm sure 'Ye can help him with that), and (b) discredit hyper-successful rappers for keeping him down, apparently. Considering how much fucking critical acclaim the Clipse receive every time one of them takes a shit, I'm not altogether sure what he's complaining about. But this freestyle was still alright.

10. RAID (FEAT. 50 CENT & PHARRELL WILLIAMS)

Finally, a fucking Neptunes beat! It's not their best work or anything: hell, it isn't even really that decent. But Pusha T's chemistry with Pharrell and Chad (who probably had jack shit to do with “Raid”, now that I think about it) is undeniable, as he elevates this track with two bookends full of fire, leaving you to wish that Fear Of God was wall-to-wall Neptunes production. It won't surprise you two to discover that the track's momentum takes a dump in your ear canal once Curtis Jackson approaches the mic for his middle verse, but it's to our host's credit that you immediately forget about his guest appearance once he returns to the booth. For his part, Pharrell seems to have lost his fucking shit, as his chorus, just like the one on the Clipse's “Popular Demand (Popeye's)”, sounds like something Kool Keith would scribble down during a wet dream: I think the man needs a vacation.

11. TOUCH IT (FEAT. KANYE WEST)

My understanding is that this simple Kanye West beat was originally intended for Common to use during his Universal Mind Control pussy-obsessed days, but the collaboration wasn't meant to be, so Pusha T earns the distinction of reusing an instrumental that was never released in the first place. Weird. Anyway, he drafts a trio of verses revolving around tricking some girl into sucking his dick. Oddly, even with the wasted potential on here, this song didn't completely blow (no pun intended) (okay, maybe a little), as Pusha somehow finds new ways to describe fellatio that never become boring or awkward. Unlike 'Ye's own hook, which is just as creepy as his other sex raps have been. If any Republicans are on the lookout for a rapper to preach abstinence (because teaching teens to fucking use condoms seems to be out of the question in America), Kanye West's repulsive descriptions of sexual congress will definitely meet their needs. Oh well, at least his beat was effective enough.

12. SPEAKERS GOING HAMMER FREESTYLE

This freestyle, set to a Soulja Boy Tell 'Em song (of all things), goes off the rails as soon as Pusha ends his verse, as he spends the outro recounting a conversation he had where he, apparently, took a bit too much offense at someone not remembering exactly what type of vehicle he drives. Do you remember those old-school R&BN songs where the artist would take time away from singing to flat-out talk to the object of their affection (and, by proxy, the audience)? This was a poor example of that shit. And yes, I realize that wasn't the effect Pusha T was intending.

13. ALONE IN VEGAS (OUTRO)

The conclusion to Fear Of God swings for the fences and succeeds, which may be a weird metaphor to use for a song that alternates between mournful and positive, but there you go. Pusha T uses the Nottz beat to reflect on his past and discovers just how alone he feels, growing closer to existential with each passing bar. A bit of a downer, but “Alone In Vegas” still ends Fear Of God on a higher note than it deserves, especially with its outro, on which Pusha explains that, now that he's gotten this mixtape off of his chest, he's now ready to go to work with Kanye. Expect to see that project around Neveruary 31, 2012.

SHOULD YOU TRACK IT DOWN? Although it's free and not especially difficult to come by, Pusha T's Fear Of God is a mixed bag that isn't consistently entertaining. It has its high points, and it's nice that it sounds more like an album than an actual mixtape (thankfully, there are no insipid deejay drops within the tracks themselves), but it's ultimately a frustrating straight-through listen. Part of the reason that those Re-Up Gang mixtapes were so successful was that the input from the four players resulted in some inspired instrumental choices: when left to his own devices, Pusha T handpicks some relatively boring shit. The original beats Pusha has been supplied with are also a far cry from the glory days of the Clipse. I don't understand why Pusha T is running away from his past work with the Neptunes: his coke raps have always sounded their best when paired with the stark, empty minimalism of a blingy synth beat. (Indeed, a lot of Neptunes beats sound like the soundtrack to snorting cocaine anyway.) Lyrically, Pusha T sounds a bit lost without his brother's guidance, but he fakes it well enough to earn an audience on his own: it's just too bad that Fear Of God isn't as potent a product as it could have been. I expect to lose this project among the contents of my hard drive almost instantaneously. Oh well.

-Max

RELATED POSTS:

You can read up on some other Clipse stuff by clicking here.

LL Cool J - Phenomenon (October 7, 1997)

If you two are playing close attention, you'll notice something a bit different about today's entry in the reverse-chronological catalog of HHID's LL Cool J write-ups.  Yep, that's right: this one isn't a Gut Reaction piece, as I actually own this album for some ungodly reason.  I'll choose to believe that my younger self elected to pick up Phenomenon, James Todd Smith's seventh studio album for Def Jam Records, simply because he knew that I would eventually write about it on this very blog.  That's the only decent explanation I can come up with for this project appearing in my crates that nobody believes actually exist, and it's laughable at best, since my younger self had no idea what a "blog" was or why "Gucci Mane". Just why.

Phenomenon was released in 1997, around the time that LL was fully engrossed in his acting career, as he was picking up movie roles left and right, as if they were pennies on the fucking sidewalk.  Its ten tracks were carefully crafted to capitalize on the audience that his previous effort, the comeback-of-sorts Mr. Smith, garnered: most of the songs were meant to appeal to the mainstream (read: female) audience, whereas a handful of tracks were singled out to prove that LL Cool J was still capable of entertaining the hip hop heads.  Almost as if to piss off every single person on the face of the Earth, though, James had the audacity to hire on Puff Daddy and his production team as Phenomenon's overseers, guaranteeing that the project would, at the very least, sample a bunch of songs from the 1980s for no good reason, because that was what Sean "Puffy" Combs did back in 1997, in between spoonfuls of his Count Chocula.

Phenomenon has been largely forgotten today (for a damn good reason, I might add, but I'm getting ahead of myself); in fact, it would have probably vanished from the face of the planet had it not been for a single song that, improbably, proved LL Cool J to be relevant in our chosen genre again.  Older hip hop heads will know exactly to what I'm referring to; the rest of you will just have to scroll down a bit.  Suffice it to say, that single track isn't enough to warrant any sort of Phenomenon renaissance. 

Besides, this album has allegedly sold more than one million copies, so LL Cool J clearly doesn't need any more exposure.

1. PHENOMENON

Phenomenon kicks off with its “White Lines (Don't Do It)”-jacking title track-slash-first single, casting doubt on the durability of the entire project for me. Cool James adopts a whisper-like flow, as if he's supposed to be cooing into a hot chick's ear for the duration of the track, and completely forgets about the male half of the world population, for which this song will do absolutely nothing for. Given how the instrumental somehow transformed an anti-cocaine screed into a blingy club song, it won't come as a surprise to discover that Puffy and his Hitmen are behind it. I'm sure there are women out there who love this song, but ask yourself, do you really want to be with a woman with such awful taste in music? For longer than the one night, I mean.

2. CANDY (FEAT. RICKY BELL & RALPH TRESVANT)

As love raps act as Ladies Love's social currency, he makes sure to fill up the short Phenomenon tracklisting with as many as he can before he conceivably loses his straight male fanbase (if there were any still around at this point in his career). This song is predictably saccharin, and not just because of the title, and before you ask, naming the song “Candy” and then inviting two members of New Edition to sing on it is absolutely not a coincidence, as they try their best to not sully the memory of the original “Candy Girl” while performing what is ostensibly an extension of their hit, which is still a guilty pleasure of mine. (You two feel the same way, too. Just let it happen.) James piles on so much sugar that his lady love walks away with Type II diabetes, but this is a love rap, so I kind of saw that coming.

3. STARSKY AND HUTCH (FEAT. BUSTA RHYMES)

Phenomenon contains exactly two songs for the hip hop heads: “4,3,2,1” and this track, featuring Busta Rhymes over a poppier-than-usual L.E.S. production. In between hearing Trevor Smith (no relation to our host) talk about shooting his load all over some anonymous groupie's back and Cool James spelling out his rap name, inserting unnecessary punctuation and thereby proving that he isn't even entirely sure what his name is supposed to look like what printed out, “Starsky and Hutch” (which has nothing to do with either the show or the not-so-great Todd Phillips movie of the same name) bored me to death. The rest of this write-up will have to be completed from beyond the grave, I suppose.

4. ANOTHER DOLLAR (FEAT. BUSTA RHYMES)

Mr. Rhymes also appears (in more of a hypeman fashion) on this track, which would have counted as Phenomenon's third attempt at a hip hop song, had it not been produced by committee (Curt Gowdy shares a credit with Poke & Tone of The Trackmasters), which automatically disqualifies it from the running. However, Cool James tackles a different topic than he's used to, basing the entire song around how much money he has and how much more he will make in the future, as opposed to what he normally does: briefly bragging about it while trying to fuck your girlfriend. Since that is pretty much what seventy-five percent of all other rap songs are about, I'm not sure exactly who the audience for this shit actually is, as this track doesn't cause any of the listeners to empathize with him, especially those few who paid to see that horrible remake of Rollerball in a theater.

5. NOBODY CAN FREAK YOU (FEAT. LESHAUN & KEITH SWEAT)

LL Cool J and LeShaun collaborate on a sequel to their Mr. Smith hit duet “Doin' It”, except this time they invite Keith Sweat into their bed the studio in the hopes of coercing him to both sing the hook and possibly pick up lunch for the duo, if he's in the area, because they'll totally pay him back when he arrives. This follow-up completely misses the point, turning the foreplay between the two leads into generic dance floor come-ons (admittedly, Poke & Tone's instrumental doesn't help all that much, either), causing you to mentally check out of this not-so-phenomenal song early. Moving on...

6. HOT, HOT, HOT

The chorus on here is fucking godawful, but if you isolated it from the rest of the track and set it to a pulsating electro beat, you'd have a genuine European club hit on your hands. In no way is that intended to be any sort of praise for this bullshit, though.

7. 4,3,2,1 (FEAT. METHOD MAN, REDMAN, DMX, & CANIBUS)

This is the only track from Phenomenon that anybody even remotely remembers, and this is from an album where the title track was the first single, so that's a bad sign. Anyway, Erick Sermon provides a shuffling beat for Redman, Method Man, and DMX blah blah blah, who gives a flying fuck, all you two care about is the fact that “4,3,2,1” is ground zero for the LL Cool J / Canibus feud. Here's my take: Germaine's original verse contained a line about LL's microphone tattoo on his arm that wasn't even really a dis (he simply wanted to “borrow” it, presumably to spit a rhyme, not understanding that it wasn't a real microphone and it couldn't amplify soundwaves properly), but Cool James lost his cool, insisting that Canibus rewrite his verse: in doing so, LL also promised to retool his own bars, which contained a response to the “attack”. Germaine did as he was told, but LL kept his verse the same. A dick move? Absolutely. Was Canibus justified in taking his attack to the next level? Not necessarily: had he kept his fucking mouth shut, LL's verse would have sounded incoherent, as he would have been attacking an imaginary foe, but thanks to Germaine's confirmation (and all of the publicity this beef generated for both artists), it's now impossible to listen to “4,3,2,1” and not imagine the elder statesman berating his younger charge. This is still the best song on Phenomenon hands down, but every single other guest is overshadowed by the controversy, including Master P, who was featured on the song's “remix” that really only erased Canibus and inserted P's verse before that of Cool James. Give it up to our host, though: even when throwing punches at the shadows surrounding him, he still has the capacity to sound entertaining on the mic. (For the record, “The Ripper Strikes Back”, which was never officially released, is the pinnacle of his performance in the battle, which he absolutely no-fucking-question-in-my-mind won: when was the last time you saw Canibus do anything relevant?)

8. WANNA GET PAID (FEAT. THE LOST BOYZ)

This radio-friendly collaboration with the Lost Boyz (a crew that I really need to get back to, writing-wise) samples Orange Krush's “Action”, which would have worked much more effectively had I not listened to Puff Daddy and Jay-Z's “Do You Like It...Do You Want It” much more recently. Curiously, this song was produced by Daven “Prestige” Vanderpool, one of Puffy's Hitmen, which can only mean that Sean Combs heard this song (as Phenomenon was released before Puff Daddy's Forever) and decided to swipe the instrumental wholesale for use on his own project. (Which is probably exactly what happened, as Prestige shares a production credit on the Forever track.) Anyway, this song isn't horrible by any means, but this wasn't the way I wanted to reintroduce the Lost Boyz to the blog, especially as they're not given much to do on here, aside from the chorus and the occasional ad-lib (speaking of which, R.I.P. Freaky Tah). You'll notice that I haven't written a single word about LL's contribution to this song until just now.

9. FATHER

As hip hop is the last major art form that still revels in its homophobia (just like how modern-day country music is a haven for pro-Republican screeching, save for the Dixie Chicks, which makes that genre different from pretty much every single other form of entertainment media in the motherfucking world), it was pretty ballsy for Cool James to use a sample from George Michael's “Father Figure”. (As a fan of 1980s music who actually likes early George Michael and some Wham!, though, I wholeheartedly approve.) LL decides to use this song to frankly discuss how much of an abusive asshole his father was (he once opened fire on his mother, for instance), lending this track more credence than your typical Cool James song. It isn't great to actually listen to, but it was intriguing enough.

10. DON'T BE LATE, DON'T COME TOO SOON (FEAT. TAMIA)

Yes, that song title means exactly what you think it means, So yeah, I'm done here.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Phenomenon is the reason why I stopped giving a fuck about LL Cool J, and in listening to it today, I'm reminded that my decision was the correct one. Cool James attempted to follow up the commercial success of Mr. Smith by not altering his formula, a combination of love raps with some hardcore thug shit thrown in for good measure, but he completely forgot to make the songs even remotely entertaining. Even the set's best track, the massive collaboration “4,3,2,1”, is only interesting because of its backstory and the resulting fallout: Erick Sermon's beat on there isn't one of his best, and the guests who weren't named Canibus all get lost in the haze, which isn't a good thing when said guests are motherfucking Method Man, Redman, and an in-his-prime DMX. The few “hip hop” songs on Phenomenon don't connect, since Ladies Love hasn't sounded convincing in that department ever since he scored his role on In The House, and the love raps fail to sound appealing to the opposite sex. Phenomenon is an aural representation of a man coasting on laurels that he was just recently rewarded, so none of the points on here feel earned. In short (because this write-up is already much too long), Phenomenon is a hot mess. A short hot mess (I'm really thankful that this album is only ten tracks deep), but a hot mess regardless.

BUY OR BURN? No.

BEST TRACKS: “4,3,2,1”, if I absolutely have to choose something

-Max

RELATED POSTS:

Catch up on the other installments of The LL Cool J Experiment by clicking here.

A Reader's Gut Reaction: Lupe Fiasco - Lasers (March 8, 2011)

(I didn't run out to buy Lupe Fiasco's long-delayed third album, Lasers, nor do I have any plans to. However, CJ has been kind enough to submit a Reader Review, so you two will now have a forum with which to discuss it as you wish. Be sure to leave some comments for CJ below, and also visit his blog, The Spot For Hip Hop and Everything Else, which features his director's cut of today's post, providing you with a rare opportunity to see how the write-up originally read before I brought out my scissors. Enjoy!)

After a three-year delay, Lupe Fiasco has created a lot of hype for Lasers, his follow-up to 2007's Lupe Fiasco's The Cool. Unfortunately, a lot of the buzz was a result of behind-the-scenes conversations, as opposed to Lupe's actual musical output. The alleged first single, “Shining Down” (which featured vocalist Matthew Santos, who also took a co-starring role on our host's earlier single “Superstar”) hit the Internet way back in June of 2009, but even though most Lupe fans would agree that it sounded terrific, it failed to make any noise on Billboard's Hot 100, which presented a problem for his label, Atlantic Records, who suddenly didn't have much faith in the commercial viability of Lasers.

For his first two albums, Lupe Fiasco retained complete creative control, and he still managed to squeak by with some mild hits, as his “Superstar” and “Kick, Push” both performed moderately well on radio. However, after the failure of “Shining Down”, Atlantic Recored retroactively decided that those earlier Fiasco tracks were flukes, and they were hesitant to press their luck any further. To press the issue, they held Lupe up to the same standards as the immensely successful Drake and B.o.B. (himself a product of Atlantic Records), two examples where it was clear that the label had plenty of input on how their eventual solo debuts turned out.

So this time around, they informed Lupe that he would have to record more mainstream-friendly tracks in order for the label to agree to back his third album, which eventually became Lasers. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Lupe wasn't very cool with this. He wanted Atlantic to have nothing to do with Lasers, except for when it came time to market it. A standoff then ensued, each side refusing to blink before the other, which lasted for days, and then weeks, and then months. Finally, after Lupe's fans protested on his behalf and Atlantic Records realized they were actually starting to lose money on the project, Lupe unleashed his tweet heard around the hip-hop world on October tenth, simply stating, “Victory!”

And yet it wasn't a complete victory for Lupe Fiasco. Mere months later, he announced that Lasers would include some club-ready tracks, which signaled that some sort of compromise was made in order for Lasers to actually see the light of day. Which brought about a more important question: just how much did Lupe have to sacrifice (aside from “Shining Down”, which didn't make the final cut) so that he could actually release his album?

The answers to that and more lie below.

1. LETTING GO (FEAT. SARAH GREEN)

For what is pretty much an intro, at least it has an interesting theme (that of “Letting Go”). This wasn't an especially dense track lyrically, but it doesn't need to be, thanks to the production behind it. The Future provides a spacey feel with a piano loop in the back that seems to fit the overall vibe well. It's also very bass heavy, which is another plus, as it lends the track more of the "wow" factor that is necessary to start an album. While the hook does get a little repetitive, it's still pretty catchy, and Sarah Green finishes the song off with some strong vocals. Overall, a terrific way for Lupe to get Lasers off and running.

2. WORDS I NEVER SAID (FEAT. SKYLAR GREY)

Skylar Grey (of Dr. Dre's “I Need A Doctor” fame) performs the hook to what was originally supposed to be a love song, but Lupe decided to add a political spin, resulting in a powerful set of verses that call out many of the issues that he sees in the world today (such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh both being racists, for example). His third verse is what really captures his audience, though: “I think that all the silence is worse than all violence / Fear is such a weak emotion, that's why I despise it / We're scared of almost everything, afraid to even tell the truth / So scared of what you think of me, I'm scared of even telling you / I'm like the only person I feel safe to tell it to / I'm locked inside a cell in me, I know that there's a jail in you / Consider this your bailing out, so take a breath inhale a few / My screams is finally gettin' free, my thoughts is finally yellin' through!” I don't know if this is the best song of 2011, but it's certainly in the running. I have to give the man credit for not only putting “Words I Never Said” on the album, but for also releasing it as a single.

3. TILL I GET THERE

This brought back such good memories of Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor, as it reminded me of “I Gotcha” and still worked beautifully. Producer Needlz, who worked with Lupe in the past on "Hurt Me Soul" (also conveniently found on Food & Liquor), does a terrific job with this beat, creating a light but fun beat for our host to run over with the four-key piano loop in the background. I also liked the additional piano loop used over the hook, which was extremely catchy. While "Words I Never Said" was great because of its message, this song is truly what Lupe is about. Best track on Lasers so far.

4. I DON'T WANNA CARE RIGHT NOW (FEAT. MDMA)

Well, the title says it all. I'm praying Atlantic was one hundred percent fully responsible for this song, because otherwise, I'm going to assume that Lupe has a serious drug problem for believing that this was worthy of making the final cut. Lupe's lyrics are pretty terrible, but so is the beat (from The Audibles) I don't even understand how Atlantic could have ever believed this song would become popular: it sounds like something Jason Derulo or Ke$ha should work with, not Lupe Fiasco. Note to self: skip this track at all costs in the future.

5. OUT OF MY HEAD (FEAT. TREY SONGZ)

Oh God, this is just getting embarrassing. It's one thing to have one awful track on your album, but two in a row? The production is just as bad as on the previous track, and Trey Songz supplies a forgettable hook (what a surprise). It's a disgrace that Lupe would allow Atlantic to do this to his music. Sure, the music industry is a business, and the label needs to actually sell records, but if Lupe cares so much about what his name is attached to, then this goes against everything he stands for. I'm trying to avoid slamming my headphones against my desk out of frustration.

6. THE SHOW GOES ON

Everyone that has ever heard of Lupe Fiasco has probably listened to this song by now. However, this track still sounds as fresh as it did when it was released nearly five months ago. The message on here is great, and Lupe proves you can create a popular single that actually has depth. What's funny is that I hated the production behind this when I first listened to it: I initially thought that using the Modest Mouse "Float On" sample was pretty lame. The track has grown on me ever since, though. The music video for this is also fantastic, so you should check it out if you get a chance. My favorite line had to be: “Tell em' look at me boy / I hope your son don't have a gun and never be a d-boy!” Interestingly enough, this was not Lupe's personal work: during an interview with Complex, he explained that Atlantic gave him both the beat and the hook and told him to turn it into a song. The rare occurrence of a record label actually giving an advantage to their artist, I suppose.

7. BEAUTIFUL LASERS (2 WAYS) (FEAT. MDMA)

I don't know how to really feel about this track right now, but my initial reaction is that it isn't all that special. Lupe's delivery makes me believe that this was originally a song he tried to put his all into, and I think he does a decent job when on the mic. The Future nailed the production on "Letting Go", but not so much on this. It's not necessarily a bad beat, but it can be hard to listen to. Lupe's rhymes are too fast for the instrumental to keep up with, and that ultimately hurts this song. The absolute worst part about this track, though, has to be the hook. You can get away with a poor chorus if it's catchy enough (see: Wiz Khalifa's "Roll Up"), but unfortunately, this one isn't. It turns what could have been a pretty good track into an average one.

8. COMING UP (FEAT. MDMA)

Clearly this is Atlantic Records on the mic and not Lupe. I've heard Lupe do heartfelt love tracks before (see: "Sunshine"), so I know that he's capable. However, this is nothing like what you would expect from him. To be honest, this really isn't a bad track: The Future's beat here is an improvement over the previous song (the piano/guitar loop actually works well) and MDMA is a great fit for the hook (unlike "Beautiful Lasers"). But the song isn't true to who our host is supposed to be. You can't tell me that it's all Lupe when the first lines he spits are, “This one goes out to the baby girls / In a rush to grow up in this crazy world”. Now, if an artist like J. Cole were given this, I think it would sound much, much better because it fits with who he is. But not Lupe Fiasco.

9. STATE RUN RADIO (FEAT. MATT MAHAFFEY)

A friend of mine, who also follows Lupe pretty closely, said that this was a song that Lupe performed a couple of years ago at a concert. He also mentioned that it sounded a lot different back then, and I believe we all know why it sounds shitty on Lasers. The hook, again, is awful and it begs the question: Who the fuck at Atlantic suggested that this sounded worthy of an album?

10. BREAK THE CHAIN (FEAT. ERIC TURNER & SWAY)

I'm at a loss for words at this point. I don't know if it's more out of frustration or disappointment. Another bad hook, another couple of meaningless verses, another fail. Notice how I've been writing less for each song as the album goes on.

11. ALL BLACK EVERYTHING

“All Black Everything”, which is actually a very good song, is something that Lupe clearly had complete control over, as there are absolutely no pop elements to be found. Lupe has said that this was his favorite song on Lasers, and after listening, it's not hard to understand why. The lyrics are some of the most creative to be found on the album, even if I'm not as excited about Buchanan's beat (although it's still pretty good). At least there was something to salvage at the end of this train wreck of an album.

12. NEVER FORGET YOU (FEAT. JOHN LEGEND)

Lupe has stated that he had nothing to with this track, which is surprising because it's actually pretty good. John Legend provides the best hook of the entire album (I kind of expected that, though) and I thought the beat on here wasn't bad. If this song suffers from anything, however, it's Lupe's lack of motivation: he sounds bland and careless. While it's still a good track (and one of the more entertaining ones on Lasers), it could have been better with some actual heart put into it by its host. Whatever, I'm just glad the album is over so I can go back to listening to The Cool again.

THE LAST WORD: My first thought when I finished Lupe Fiasco's Lasers was, "I waited three years for this?" Lupe, an emcee that I had so heavily respected for his creativity and "nerdy" flow, sacrificed everything he stood for with this album. Is it all his fault? Of course not: Atlantic deserves much of the blame for this mess. As Lupe has already said multiple times, the label took over the project and molded it into commercial bullshit. This isn't Lupe Fiasco's Lasers, but Atlantic's Lasers starring Lupe Fiasco, as there is a lot of material on here that isn't a proper representation of who Lupe actually is. Still, our host deserves criticism as well, as his voice does appears on every track. However, even within these mainstream boundaries, what's frustrating is that Lupe hasn't fallen off as an artist: in fact, he's actually improved, as tracks such as “Words I Never Said” and “Till I Get There” show. Bigger artists like Nas and Jay-Z also had their so-called fuck ups (see Nastradamus and The Blueprint 2: The Gift and The Curse, respectively), so I don't want to hear everyone claiming that Lu has fallen off. However, as a fan, I can only hope that he recovers from his mistakes on Lasers and doesn't allow his label to release an album not true to who he is in the future (to that point, Lupe claims that his fourth album has already been completed). So what if you have to delay your album for four years instead of just the three? The product is what matters at the end of the day, not the release date. Pray that your one friend that doesn't know any better buys Lasers, as you won't want to waste your own money on it. There are some great tracks on here, even some of Lupe's finest, but for the most part, this is an album full of mainstream crap, rather than real music.

-CJ

(Questions? Feedback? Leave your thoughts below.)

Sean Price - Monkey Barz (May 31, 2005)

The Boot Camp Clik are a hip hop supergroup who have received very little support on the blog, which makes very little sense when you look back at the mostly positive reviews the various members have garnered from me.  Maybe it's too daunting of a task to track down each and every single ancillary member of the Camp in order to write about solo albums that are possibly below par.  (No, this isn't the case: I seem to have no problem doing the same for the much larger Wu-Tang Clan.)  Or it could just be due to my overall laziness.  (Which is more likely.)  Either way, today's attempt to fix that oversight will focus on the beginning of the solo career of Sean Price, both formerly and currently known as Ruck from the duo Heltah Skeltah.

Shortly after the release of their second album, Magnum Force, his partner Rock began to have some problems with the rest of the Duck Down Records staff, which led to him leaving the crew to kick off a solo career with an entirely different label, one which never really materialized (until, arguably, much more recently, but that's a story for another time).  Ruck had no such quarrel with the folks who brought him in to the rap game, so he stuck by the side of Duck Down heads Buckshot and Dru Ha, providing contributions to the albums of other members of the group.  All of the goodwill he spread came back to him tenfold when it came time for him to record his solo debut, Monkey Barz.

Ruck took on a new rap moniker inspired by his actual birth name, Sean Price, in an attempt to show that he was taking his career seriously.  (Besides, nobody would give much of a fuck about an album coming from a guy who still called himself 'Ruck'.)  Monkey Barz was released shortly after a mixtape, Donkey Sean Jr., tested the waters, and even though it is technically yet another example of a rap album with no cohesive theme, thanks to its multiple producers (although, sadly, no input from Da Beatminerz) and guest stars galore, Monkey Barz became one of the most successful Boot Camp Clik releases in the crew's history.  It even helped usher in a new era for the Boot Camp, as Monkey Barz was the first of three Duck Down projects released in 2005 to help get show the fans of our chosen genre that they were back and they still meant business.  (The other two albums that were a part of this "Triple Threat Campaign" were the Buckshot and 9th Wonder collaboration Chemistry and Smif-N-Wessun Reloaded, from the artists formerly known as the Cocoa Brovaz.  These three albums are forever linked by some badass comic book-inspired cover art that form a triptych when combined.)

Monkey Barz not only kicked off Sean Price's solo career, it also, ironically, served as an official reunion of sorts for Heltah Skeltah, as Rock, after having finally put his issues behind him, makes a couple of guest turns on the project.  Far from being Nocturnal Part 2, though, Monkey Barz is a showcase for a skilled rapper whose delivery is as effortless as the simple act of breathing.  Which is absolutely not a trait that I would have classified Sean Price as having back when I was writing about Heltah Skeltah.  

It's nice to see people evolve in hip hop.

1. PEEP MY WORDS

This was pretty much a rap album intro, in that our host for the evening is being introduced to the audience, but Sean Price kicks two solid verses in a drawl that doesn't sound like anything he ever used on Heltah Skeltah's songs. As such, he announces that Monkey Barz will sound nothing like, say, Nocturnal. Kleph Dollaz's production is slow and dramatic, complementing Price's bars, which include the line, “Soon as I punch a n---a, he's like, “Ouch! I'm telling!”, which is just fucking hilarious because of the droll way Sean delivers it. Not a bad way to kick things off.

2. ONE TWO Y'ALL

MoSS provides a beat that sounds two steps removed from something Ghostface Killah would have rhymed over circa The Pretty Toney Album (this isn't a bad thing), and the hook is laughably lackadaisical, not unlike what Busta Rhymes did on the Flipmode Squad's “To My People”. But the true draw on “One Two Y'all” is Price himself, who provides two verses full of slow-burning flames before the third one devolves into utter nonsense, almost as though he completely lost his focus and decided to use the go-to cliché of “I'll fuck your girl” instead. It was fun while it lasted, anyway.

3. ONION HEAD (FEAT. TEK)

Sean hooks up with his labelmate-slash-coworker Tek (of Smif-N-Wessun) but only uses him for the hook, which is kind of like asking Wolfgang Puck to cook something for you but having that something be a couple of Hot Pockets. But the results were decent: Price actually does sound like one of the nicest rappers in the game on here, which isn't something I would have ever imagined after exploring his roots. Then again, after “Through The Wire”, I wasn't expecting a lot out of Kanye West, either, so there's that.

4. FAKE NEPTUNE (FEAT. BUCKSHOT, STEELE, & LOUISVILLE SLUGGAH)

That title is fucking brilliant, but the Phat Babyz beat isn't blingy enough for this to be mistaken for an actual Neptunes instrumental. Buckshot, of Black Moon and Boot Camp Clik newsletter fame, only handles the hook, which is kind of like asking your godfather for a favor but then having that favor be a ride to the mall, and Steele (the other guy from Smif-N-Wessun) sounds fucking weird, but Price and O.G.C.'s Louisville Sluggah make the song their own. Price even manages to get two verses in, almost as though even he noticed that his first contribution was so chock full of references to A Tribe Called Quest that he felt his fans deserved a redo. Not bad.

5. HEARTBURN

Sean Price's version of M.O.P.'s “I Luv”, on which he lists a bunch of random things that he loves about his life, including selling drugs, fucking, and watching Falcon Crest. Strange. Anyway, the lyrics were goofy enough, but the reason this track works as a whole is thanks to 9th Wonder's soulful loop, which provides just enough of a sharp contract to expose the irony in the song. I grew a little tired of the beat by the time the third verse started, but Price's skill behind the mic held my attention for the remainder of the runtime.

6. SHAKE DOWN (FEAT. STARANG WONDAH & STEELE)

One of the best things about Monkey Barz thus far is that, even though Sean Price is calling in favors from his B.C.C. brethren, they've all made sure that they don't outshine their host. That trait continues here: Steele returns to spit a (much better) verse, and O.G.C.'s Starang Wondah (my appreciation for his work is well-documented on HHID) turns in a passable guest spot, but both cede the microphone to Sean P., who spits two verses. True, Price's second verse sounds like it was patched together on the spot, as it doesn't really fit the flow of “Shakedown”, but this was still alright.

7. MAD MANN

P.F. Cuttin's beat is really fucking good, even though its use of a distorted vocal sample from Emerson, Lake & Palmer's “Knife Edge” is more than a bit creepy. Price flows freely over the experimental instrumental, proving that he may be one of the few artists out there that sound good over nearly any type of beat, and I say that even though it's obvious that our host is just goofing off (most of his bars return to his favorite subject matter, fucking). The flourishes in the beat help it to sound more majestic than it has any right to, given that the song is called “Mad Mann”. But I liked it as a whole.

8. BROKEST RAPPER YOU KNOW

This is the first truly weak song on Monkey Barz, but thankfully, it lasts for only the length of a single verse. This Ty Deals beat is melodramatic, and Price sounds technically proficient when rhyming about his financial woes, but for me, whenever an artist talks about making music strictly for the money, their output starts to ring hollow, because if that were truly the case, you would be better off actually getting a real job. You have to have at least some interest in hip hop if you insist on continuing to write verses for mass consumption: not everyone has this particular talent. Anyway, at least this shit was short.

9. BOOM BYE YEAH (FEAT. 5 FT)

This is pretty fucking insane. Tone Mason's beat makes things move along at a fast pace, and Price steps up to the challenge, delivering three verses of increasing interest, all of which sound great. This has got to be my favorite song on Monkey Barz, hands down, even though Price exposes his secret to writing rhymes: “I rhyme about nothing [and] it sound like something”. So maybe “Boom Bye Yeah” sounds more substantial than it really is. I don't care, it's a fucking great song.

10. I LOVE YOU (BITCH)

The introduction to this song contains a shout-out to “Dru Down and the Boot Camp Clik” instead of Dru Ha, the guy who's been a part of the camp since Black Moon were suffering through their initial label issues. So you would really think that Price would have edited that shit. And then it happens a second time. Unless he's really a fan of West Coast stalwart Dru Down and his luxurious locks, there was really no reason for this to happen. There's a reason why I'm focusing on such a minute detail: this song kind of sucks. Sean P. technically sounds alright, but this ode to a destructive relationship doesn't ever really need to be heard by anyone. But hey, at least it wasn't a love rap, so that's something.

11. BYE BYE (FEAT. BUCKSHOT)

Buckshot returns to Monkey Barz, this time to spit actual verses on a song that elevates the level of misogyny on this project to brand new heights. It's fairly obvious that Sean Price seems to like women for a singular reason: this track is essentially about kicking them out of his house when they become more difficult to handle. It's easy to see why the Boot Camp Clik doesn't have much of a female audience. Anyway, this Khrysis beat is okay, and the performances from both artists were decent, but the song still comes across as morally reprehensible, which is weird, since I've heard a lot worse from our chosen genre, even before I started the site in 2007. But still.

12. SPLIFF N WESSUN (FEAT. RUSTEE JUXX)

The title doesn't make a lick of sense, but the song is still pretty good, even though Sean Price shows the first signs of lyrical exhaustion, as his bars become more and more lazy as the song moves along. His apprentice Rustee Juxx, who I always thought should be signed to a different indie record label such as Definitive Jux or Stones Throw based on his rap name alone, sounds pretty decent over this catchy Ayatollah instrumental, though, so this shit still works much better than it should, especially as neither Smif and/or Wessun have anything to do with it.

13. JAIL SHIT (FEAT. ROCK)

I should be more excited, since this song is marked as not just a reunion between both halves of Heltah Skeltah and as a return to the B.C.C. fold for Rock, but this song was fucking boring. Also, Da Rockness Monsta only handles the chorus and the outro. What was the point of this shit, exactly?

14. MONKEY BARZ

I wasn't feeling this title track, either. This must be the part of the album where the audience is expected to step away for a potty break or something. I will say that The Artist Formerly Known As Ruck sounds much more awake on here than he has on the two previous songs, though.

15. SLAP BOXING (FEAT. RUSTEE JUXX & ROCK)

The finale of Monkey Barz features the true return of Heltah Skeltah, as Rock finally gets the opportunity to spit a verse alongside Sean price and an encore performance from Rustee Juxx. “Slap Boxing” is reminiscent of the better posse cuts in the Boot Camp Clik catalog, with the simple instrumental staying out of the way while all three emcees proceed to rip the stuffing out of it (especially Rock, who must have just ended a thirty-day fast just before stepping into the booth, as he sounds like he was starving). A pretty nice way to sort-of end things.

The final song on Monkey Barz is considered to be a bonus track.

16. RISING TO THE TOP (FEAT. AGALLAH & BAZAAR ROYALE)

“Rising To The Top” is considered a bonus track not just because it doesn't really fit in with the rest of Monkey Barz: it was also previously released as a Agallah song. You may remember it as a part of the soundtrack to Grand Theft Auto III, although to be honest, I hardly remembered Sean Price appearing on the game version of the song: my mind seems to think that this has always been a solo Agallah track. Weird. Anyway, it sounded okay, if a bit dated, but it only conjures up images of stealing cars and picking up prostitutes. Actually, “Rising To The Top” succeeds in making you want to revisit the video game, so it has that going for it, which is nice.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Sean Price's solo debut Monkey Barz is actually a fairly solid effort from a guy who wasn't expected to sound this good by himself. Sure, he's a blogger favorite today, but everyone had to start somewhere, and Price hasn't always been championed, although he quickly proves why he should be on here. He doesn't step his lyrical game up as dramatically as one would hope, but his flow has never been a problem. Monkey Barz doesn't sound like a cohesive album, thanks to the multiple producers it took to bang this out, but price sounds fairly consistent throughout, with only a few missteps here and there, making this a successful debut anyway. Sean Price was able to leverage this album into a cult following, which is deserved. The Boot Camp Clik cameos sound out of their element, but most of them manage to deliver for their boy, turning Monkey Barz into an enjoyable diversion. After listening to Monkey Barz, you may find yourself starting to actually believe those rumors about how Jay-Z was interested in signing Sean P. to Roc-A-Fella.

BUY OR BURN? I suggest you pick this one up. Not every track works, but enough of them do to make this worth parting with your cash.

BEST TRACKS: “Boom Bye Yeah”; “Slap Boxing”; “Heartburn”; “Madman”; “Spliff N Wessun”

-Max

RELATED POSTS:

As I mentioned above, there are a few more Boot Camp Clik-related reviews to be found on the blog. Clicking here would be a good start.