September 25, 2009

Afu-Ra - Life Force Radio (May 21, 2002)


In the year 2000, rapper Afu-Ra, an apprentice of Jeru The Damaja who appeared on his The Sun Rises In The East and Wrath of The Math, released his solo debut Body Of The Life Force. While decidedly free of any Damaja-laced tirades, Afu managed to finagle production and cameo spots from the likes of DJ Premier, the Cocoa Brovaz, Gza/Genius, Masta Killa, DJ Muggs, and Da Beatminerz. It gained a small cult following, and Afu-ra was encouraged to swing for the fences a second time.

So when Koch Records announced Life Force Radio, Afu-Ra's follow-up, expectations rose exponentially. However, both its guest list and its production seemed to downgrade from the debut, and the concept of a radio station called "Life Force Radio", one which seems to play nothing but Afu-Ra's shit, was a pure example of what suspension of disbelief was all about.

Life Force Radio ended up not doing as well as the man's debut. Undeterred, Afu-Ra elected to continue to not work with Jeru The Damaja and, instead, stuck by his own weed carriers while they all attempted to figure out just who, exactly, was the carrier of said weed in that relationship.

1. ASUN / THE MESSAGE (FEAT ASUN THE BLACK SUN)
No comment.

2. SCAT MAN
I didn't like the beat, but I appreciated Afu-Ra's rhymes on here. He sounds about the same as he did on Body Of The Life Force, but that style still works when paired up with the right instrumental. I like the fact that the rhymes are fast and furious, but then the "hook" is sing-songy. But, yeah, not liking the beat kind of ruined shit for me.

3. STICK UP (FEAT BIG DADDY KANE)
Afu-Ra and Big Daddy Kane don't make for the most natural pairing, but they both sound alright over this dull Curt Cazal instrumental. I was left wishing that this collaboration took place over a more majestic beat. Unlike some of Kane's other recent cameos, though, this one didn't feature any bars that stood out, making this simply a serviceable song.

4. HIP HOP (FEAT RESPECT)
Easy Mo Bee's loud, crashing beat sounds like a perfect fit for M.O.P. However, that duo showed up at the studio on the wrong day, and ended up on an entirely different track, leaving Afu all by his lonesome. He doesn't sound bad on here at all, although the speed-rapping was a bit much, but we're all ignoring the bigger story: I just wrote about producer Easy Mo Bee on two consecutive days. How cool is that? Somebody give that guy a deal to release a CD of popular rappers rhyming to his distinctive beats: the genre could certainly use it.

5. CROSSFIRE (FEAT M.O.P.)
Billy Danze gets slightly political on here, threatening to invade Kuwait and shoot [Osama Bin Laden] in the face" for causing the collapse of the Twin Towers. He usually sounds animated anyway, but on here, he's fucking pissed off. Sadly, that ends up being the only truly memorable thing about this track.

6. OPEN (FEAT TEENA MARIE)
This was corny as hell. Afu's "uniquely argyle" wardrobe choices for Wednesday was a funny description, but I cannot believe that Afu-Ra's handlers were so concerned with getting the man a wider audience that they committed to a radio friendly single (one which never got any burn on the airwaves). And I was left feeling worse for Teena "Square Biz" Marie than I did when I found out that she signed with Cash Money Records. Groan.

7. LYRICAL MONSTER
Not the greatest Primo beat, but it sounds alright underneath Afu-Ra's spittle. Unlike Primo's work with Afu's mentor Jeru The Damaja, though, this sounds like DJ Premier made a beat for the highest bidder, instead of crafting the track with the artist's involvement: The Sun Rises In The East is as much a Primo masterpiece as it is Jeru's.

8. MISS YOU (FEAT ALANA DA FONSECA)
Meh.

9. PERVERTED MONKS (FEAT A-SUN, CA-SEE, & RESPECT)
Easy Mo Bee's beat was actually pretty damn good, and Afu fit it like a glove. Unfortunately, his weed carriers (who also make up most of Afu-Ra's crew, the Perverted Monks, who later managed to release one album) also appear on here, and each time the mic is passed, the transition is jarring.

10. GHETTO CITY STREETS (SKIT)
Even though there is singing featured on this skit, this still ended up being a spoken word interlude. Pass.

11. READJUSTMENT (FEAT Q)
Uses the same David Axelrod sample (from "Smile") that Pete Rock used on "Strange Fruit" and Lord FInesse rocked over "Actual Facts". However, while those two beatmasters made incredible beats off of six seconds of an Axelrod track, for some reason Easy Mo Bee can't do the same. I didn't really like this at all.

12. 1,2,3
Curt Cazal's beat is almost too old-school: it sounds like it's scoring the era of Prohibition. Afu's chorus is also really weird. ("Who loves you better: your mother, wife, or daughter?" The fuck?) Those were the main reasons I couldn't get into this song. Well, those, and the final verse, which just clinches it.

13. THINK BEFORE YOU... (FEAT JAHDAN)
Sounds like a poor man's version of Body Of The Life Force's "D&D Soundclash". Guest star Jahdan comes off as an alternate universe Busta Rhymes, one who prefers singing to rapping. Other than that, this song wasn't all that bad, but I'm missing Afu-Ra's debut more and more now.

14. AURAL FIXATION (FEAT THE HUMAN ORCHESTRA)
Hearing Afu-Ra rhyming over the accompaniment of a human beatbox sounds like the essence of true hip hop. In reality, it was probably cheaper to get someone to make the music with their mouth than it would be to hire musicians: someone had to somehow pay for both The Rza and Big Daddy Kane to appear on the same album, after all.

15. DANGEROUS LANGUAGE (FEAT RZA (AS BOBBY DIGITAL))
I'm sure Afu was also disappointed that his guest star didn't also handle the beat. However, fellow Wu-Element True Master does a great job with it, and the two men sound as if they had been rhyming together for years. Even though The Rza is in full-on Bobby Digital bullshit hip hop superhero mode, his verse is less cryptic than usual, making this song that much more enjoyable.

16. SACRED WARS (FEAT DON PARMAZHANE & THE BLOB)
I'll be honest: when I first heard this track, I thought it was a gag: the rhymes of the guests are so far off the mark that I thought this was a skit. Alas, I was wrong: Don Parmazhane is a rapper who also appeared on Guru's Baldhead Slick & Da Click album. So he seems to be well liked in the Gang Starr Foundation. As such, everybody was dead serious on here.

17. BLVD. (FEAT GURU)
Afu actually uses the phrase "she sells seashells by the seashore". No, seriously, he really does. His lyrics do get better, but that corny misstep ruins the song for me. Well, that, and the experimental, mostlky bland DJ Premier beat. Well, those, and the fact that Guru only appears on the hook. At least I can finally shut this Life Force Radio off.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Life Force Radio only works if you buy into the concept if an entire of Afu-Ra tracks playing back-to-back on an actual station, which is a feat that the man is simply not capable of. This album is wildly inconsistent, with Afu's street tales and quasi-religious mathematic psychobabble alternating with...songs for the ladies? The hell? The production has also taken a step backward from Body Of The Life Force, leaving many of Afu's lyrics buried in horrific instrumentals. The man just cannot carry an entire album by himself. Well, maybe he could, if he got DJ Premier to produce the whole sucker, but even Primo's beats on here sound bargain-basement. A disappointment.

BUY OR BURN? Burn this if you must. Afu-Ra has followed his mentor into the fire of horrible production values, and there may or may not be any sort of an escape to hope for.

BEST TRACKS: "Dangerous Language"; "Lyrical Monster"

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
Afu-Fa - Body Of The Life Force

6 comments:

  1. Only track I really like from Afu-ra is God of Rap from State of the Arts, everything else is kinda listenable in a I-wouldn't-change-the station-if-it-popped-up-on-the-radio kind of way...
    Now get to 2pac before you finish your 2 month run...No actually, do him after you rested...I don't want a half-assed review of my favorite pac album...
    Good job keeping this blog going and keep up the good work

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  2. I hate to say it, but your review was on point.

    Especially the sentence "Afu-Ra has followed his mentor into the fire of horrible production values"... that is entirely true.

    Just make sure you never hear his third album... it gets much, much worse.

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  3. i agree with you here, this album's production was gay, BOLF is way fucking better than this one, i still like afu ra lyrically, but he needs to bring back the producers he worked with on his first album, especially preemo and muggs

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  4. Saddly, this album is not what everybody expected from Afu. Lyrical he's alright and his rapping is great.

    Except 3 or 4 songs, the rest is disappointing.

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  5. Mad LOLZ @ the sentence on track 12 "it sounds like it's scoring the era of Prohibition".. BWAHAHAHAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!.. it's funny cause it's TRUE!!

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  6. you're track listing is a bit off, Max. "Sacred Wars" appears before "Dangerous Language" not after.

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