K-The-I??? - Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow (2008)

K-The-I???
Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow (2008)
I'm typically not one to dump on anyone who tries to experiment with music. I fully support it, actually. This is how genre's expand and how new sounds are brought to us: by artists who aren't afraid to push envelopes and turn off some listeners in favor of attracting those few who really want to hear something new. But as with any experiment, some ideas work and some just don't. Rules are made to be broken, yeah, but some rules are there because they're a really good idea. Take rapping on beat, for instance. Good idea! I mean, if you have a beat, why not follow it, right? Otherwise the beat is wasted. It's there but it's serving no purpose. It's wondering why its creator didn't just use white noise and abstract sounds or something that fits the rapper's freeform style. It dreams of a relationship with a rapper who will respect it and treat it right; take care of it when it's sick and never dare raise their voice at it unless the crescendo obliges. And when it starts to have doubts about the relationship like that, the song will invariably fall flat. That is pretty much my experience with most of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.

To state it clearly: this album just didn't do it for me. The idea of it sounds really appealing on paper. On one side, you have an innovative producer in Thavius Beck, who has found success making great experimental beats for great experimental rappers like Busdriver and Saul Williams. On the other side you have K-the-I???: perhaps the most experimental rapper Beck has ever been paired with. K's stream-of-consciousness style of rapping probably can't claim to make any sense to anyone but himself. The only way he could make his lyrics more abstract at this point would be to invent his own language and words (which I wouldn't put past him, actually).

Sadly, the pairing of these two talents never really meshes well. Beck provides a lot of nice beats and soundscapes, but they seldom seem to have been made with an intent for vocal contribution. It's as if he were working on an instrumental solo album, K-The-I??? approached him about some beats, and Beck simply allowed him to pick through what he had and rap over it. The fact that it was actually the other way around (Beck approached K-the-I???) is a little perplexing. They make a pretty convincing case on songs like "Lead The Floor", but otherwise Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow strikes me as a nice experimental turntablism album that happens to have some vocals on it.

Plus, the rapping slightly offbeat thing really does bother me. But I've already spent an entire sarcastic paragraph addressing that.


Score: 5/10


"Decisions"


"Lead The Floor"

Doom - Born Like This (2009)

Doom
Born Like This (2009)
I was pretty sure Born Like This was going to be the next Chinese Democracy; the Hip-Hop Chinese Democracy, I should say. After so many unfounded release dates went by and MF Doom's impostor antics sullied his legacy a little, I was skeptical that the promised March 24th 2009 release date was actually real. But then three things happened: 1) Chinese Democracy was actually released, 2) official artwork and an official track list for Born Like This surfaced, and 3) I remembered that Dr. Dre's Detox already holds the title of Hip-Hop's Chinese Democracy, making Born Like This more like hip hop's...I dunno, new Jeff Mangum album or something.

So a fortunate day, March 24th turned out to be for me. Along with Mastodon's Crack the Skye, two of my favorite artists in their respective genre's would release new albums that day. It wasn't as fortunate a day for Born Like This. After leaving the record store with both albums in hand, Mastodon won a coin toss I used to determine which one I'd listen to first, and I never really looked back. Born Like This got a few spins here and there, but with nothing immediately striking about the album, I didn't feel the need to stick with it for extended periods. Frankly, the initial letdown proved the album to be the disappointment that I thought it would be but hoped it wouldn't be.

While I can't say that time was great to Born Like This, it did start to catch on a little after a couple of weeks. I'm not sure if I would call it a good album, but it is not as bad an album as I originally felt. Even after a several year hiatus, Doom's flow is still intact for the most part. While there's a noticeable lack of mind-blowing couplets that he'd previously been able to deliver habitually, he's still one of the most skilled rappers out there. He only falters noticeably on "Batty Boyz", if only because the homophobic undertone of the song is highly disappointing to me personally. If he wants to call other rappers' sexuality into question, that's nothing new, but he already did that on Mm..Food's "Beef Rap" ("Yuck, is they rhymers or strippin' males/Out of work jerks since they shut down Chippendales"), and he did it better, with more class, and in less words.

Even with that aside, Doom is missing something here, and it's not just the MF. There have been many a word written about the origin of the tracks on Born Like This and how some were cobbled together from previously released unofficial mixtapes or something of the sort or...I don't know. I can't say I've payed a lot of attention to any of that, but there is a bit of a disjointed feel to the album. The songs really do seem to have been collected from different recording sessions; there's even a couple of tracks that sound almost completely unmastered. Apparently there is a theme connecting the songs, but I've yet to place it. If there is one, I can't say I'm eager to figure it out. Mm..Food had an obvious theme, but it also had a number of good songs that made the listener care about the theme. Born Like This? Not so much. Unfortunately, the good here is outweighed by the average, which is ultimately what the album is.


Score: 5/10


"Absolutely"


"That's That"

Revisited: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - E. 1999 Eternal (1995)

Revisited: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - E. 1999 Eternal (1995)

Rappers would make great small business owners, and perhaps even great corporate CEO's. Most people listen to a rap album and hear boasting and braggadocio; I hear branding. Take Bone Thugs-N-Harmony for instance. They use E. 1999 Eternal to continually state what they're about and establish their brand. If they came up with a mission statement, I imagine it would read something like the following:

With Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, we promise to celebrate marijuana culture and to pursue financial security through the distribution of cocaine and other related drugs and paraphernalia. We are intensely focused on increasing our revenue, and with a comically large arsenal of illegal weaponry, we will continually strive to provide more murder than any of our competitors.

The major themes and statements on this album are driven home with just enough repetition to commit to memory but without ever annoying the listener. After only one listen, you will have intimate knowledge of the band's smoking habits as well as be fully aware of their killer instinct. You will know exactly where the group is from; SCT will be a familiar acronym. Terms that may have been unfamiliar to you before, like "llello" (yay-oh) and "pap", will be made apart of your everyday lexicon. When your skeptical friends question whether "shots to the double glock" actually makes sense as a statement, you'll be able to argue against their suspicions in detail. Any company on earth would die for that kind of brand recognition and loyalty. Had Easy-E been alive when the group recorded the remix of "Crossroad" (which would've then nullified its re-recording altogether, but lets not start analyzing my rant too much), he probably would've scolded them in a morning meeting for failing to adhere to the groups' core principles regarding drug use and violent retaliation, and kept them after work until they could recite the mission statement verbatim. Tell me that's not the attitude of a successful businessman.

I used to listen to E. 1999 all of the time as a kid. You know how sometimes people will excitedly reminisce over their favorite childhood cartoons and Disney movies when they're around a group of peers; bringing back all of these fond memories and having them state regrettably how kids today are getting ripped off in comparison? That's how I am about this album. My wife raised an eyebrow at this. It's now probably on the list of things I've told her about my past that makes her marvel at the fact that I turned out to be such a normal and level-headed adult. I may be all about responsibility and budgeting these days, but in the summer of '95, at the tender age of eleven, I was all about "keepin' em on da run wid a me shotgun".

Blame my older siblings: they both bought the album the day it came out, assuring that I was never to be very far from it. You have to try and understand their excitement, though. After the Creepin' On Ah Come Up EP and the success of the single,"Thuggish Ruggish Bone", the anticipation for Bone's full-length was huge in Ohio. HUGE. Bone were the only worthwhile rap artists representing our home state in a time where the genre was dominated by the east and west coast, skipping the Midwest entirely. Yet here Bone were: the talk of the entire rap world, and certainly the talk of the entire region and state. I didn't grow up in Cleveland, but I imagine they were bursting with so much pride that mine was just a mild seeping of pride in comparison.

Listening to E. 1999 Eternal today, I'm delighted as to how well it has held up over the years. You know, despite all the talk of murder and whatnot, Bone have always seemed like a pretty likable group of guys. There's nary a discriminatory remark about women to be found on the whole album, which is notable for almost any era of rap music. Their rapid-fire rhymes mixed in with occasional harmonizing (they aren't called Thugs-N-Harmony for nothing) provide a style that totally sets them apart, and the verses are delivered with such sincerity that when Krayzie talks of a murder he's recently committed ("I didn't want to take his life, but the nigga tried to run and get away with me llello"), you believe him and sympathize with his difficult decision. I mean, the guy tried to take his drugs for Christs sake, he had no choice.

My only complaint with this album, besides some filler tracks here and there, is that the version I bought doesn't contain the original version of "Crossroad". True, the "Crossroad" remix was much better (Grammy nominated, even), but they didn't have to take the original off entirely; they could've made it a hidden bonus track at the end or something. I miss the original mainly because it was one of two tracks on the album to borrow a sample from the Sega Genesis fighting game, Eternal Champions ("Eternal", naturally, being the other). See, that's another reason why Bone seem like likable guys. Despite their tough exterior personality and rampant drug use, they were really just geeks who liked nothing more than to chill out and play video games, which made me feel a lot better about myself growing up.



"Eternal"

Discovering the Classics: 1988 Hip-Hop Edition

(With Discovering the Classics, I chronicle my exploration of a variety of classic and influential albums that, for whatever reason, I had never heard before. Lately, my focus has been on old school hip hop. 1988 was a very big year for hip hop [many would out it only behind 1994 and 1987 as the best overall year for the genre], and I happened to have four albums from this historic year to review at the same time, which I've decided to condense into one mega-feature.)

EPMD
Strictly Business

Three signs I'm getting old:
1) I complain to my neighbors when they play their music loud (some people still have jobs to go to in the morning, ya know).

2) I don't understand people who wear headphones EVERYWHERE, like in a grocery store or at a restaurant (do you really need a soundtrack while shopping for frozen pizza and fucking Oreo's?).

3) I'm thoroughly annoyed by Eric Sermon's poor enunciation on some parts of Strictly Business. I mean, there's nothing wrong with his actual rapping, but goddamn, can that dude learn to separate his syllables a little better? Sweet Jesus. He tries to say "EPMD mania" and it comes out more like "eeppeeehdeeanya" or some shit. Sure, he's the greatest and most influential mind in hip hop history, but he must've had a lot of trouble in high school speech class. Goddamn whippersnappers.

That aside, it took me a while to appreciate this album, but when it finally clicked, it clicked hard. Top-notch production; every beat on this album kills.


"Let the Funk Flow"

Boogie Down Productions
By All Means Necessary

I have a love/hate relationship with KRS-One...or, probably more like/dislike. He has a commanding and proper delivery to his rhymes that sometimes I can tolerate enough to enjoy and other times grate on my nerves, partially because they can sound so dated. But maybe that's just me. One of the only flaws with By All Means Necessary is that the beats tend to meander at times. KRS handled the production (taking over for the late Scott La Rock) and he does a nice job for the most part, but some songs, like "Stop the Violence" most notably, are probably at least 45-seconds longer than they needs to be. That aside, this is every bit the hip hop classic as advertised. Hearing "Jimmy" sort of upset me though because it suffered such a horrible mangling of a sampling by Puff Daddy (for his 2001 single "Diddy"), in the same way that EPMD's "Let the Funk Flow" was mangled by Nas in 1999 (for "Nastradamus").


"Illegal Business"

Slick Rick
The Great Adventures of Slick Rick

If there's one thing to dislike about this album, it's the misogyny. Not like that's a new phenomenon in hip hop or anything, it just doesn't seem right coming from Slick Rick, who comes off more like an eccentric yet interesting weirdo than anything. Even still, it's hard not to like this album full of storytelling raps. It's too bad that he didn't have a more fruitful recording career. Following the release of this album, he got into a series of legal incidents that put him behind bars and he never quite recovered. Shame. He has probably the most distinctive voice in hip hop, and it would've been nice to hear it on another album that...you know, didn't suck because it was rushed out between stints in prison.


"Hey Young World"

Ultramagnetic MC's
Critical Beatdown

Holy crap, Ced Gee raps SO FUCKING HARD! It's hilarious as shit. It's like his whole approach to rap is to make up for what he may lack in lyrical skill by just emphasizing like every other syllable, as if in response to someone coming up to him and criticizing him for not being ultramagnetic enough and he's all "Oh YEAH, I'LL SHOW YO ass who's ULtramagNETIC!".

So essentially he raps like a 13-year old girl types on the internet yet somehow it works for him. Yeah, many people view this albums' place in rap history as not much more than a coming our party for Kool Keith, and yes, Kool Keith does drop some good rhymes, but Ced Gee is the highlight for me. He just starts hype and gets more hype as the album progresses. The album actually gets a little boring in the middle with the cluster of Kool Keith solo tracks. I don't know if the Ultramagnetic MC's have ever done a soft song (certainly not on this album), but I would love to see what he sounds like in one. "I really MISS my HOmies EVEN THOUGH THEY gone AWAY! I KNOW YOU in a BETter PLACE! and I HOPE to SEE you SOON one DAY!" It'd be the most hype street ballad ever.


"Ego Trippin'"

Dälek - Gutter Tactics (2009)

Dälek
Gutter Tactics (2009)

Ignore (if you can) the fact that this duo's name has thrust the MC into the forefront. Dälek may be the name of the band and the rapper, but DJ Oktopus' unique production has been the driving force behind their hard-to-place sound in the realm of music, borrowing as much from hip hop as from experimental noise, industrial, shoegaze, drone, and (for this album's title track especially) drone doom metal. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes people make when exploring Dälek is to approach them as a rap group. And while hip hop with a political flare is certainly part of the overall package, one shouldn't go into their albums expecting anything resembling Public Enemy or Dead Prez.

As discussed, production is key with Dälek albums, and with Gutter Tactics, Oktopus gives the most consistent and occasionally brilliant effort he's ever managed. Finding a balance between the harsh noise of Filthy Tongues and Absence, and the softer albeit sometimes uninteresting melodies of Abandoned Language, Gutter Tactics is at times dirty and raw but without being obnoxious, and other times bleak but without ever getting boring. If they hadn't already planned on releasing an instrumental version of this album, they should seriously consider it. It'd arguably be the best instrumental hip hop/post-rock/electronic album in recent memory.

If that's taken as a criticism of the vocals, it pretty much is. Oftentimes muffled, incomprehensible, and buried in the mix, Oktopus' handling of the vocals are easily the weakest part of his effort on Gutter Tactics. It also doesn't help that Dälek seems as if he hasn't cheered up much (though it's difficult to tell for sure; the liner notes don't contain any lyrics), not that anyone should have expected as much, but in keeping with his dire outlook he falls victim to a common failing of political hip hop.

Look, there's a reason why Public Enemy had Flava Flav. People can only take so much of hearing how fucked up and racist the world is before recoiling. Things aren't perfect by any means, and this type of subject matter shouldn't be ignored, but Dalek feeds it in such heavy doses that it distracts from using their music as a form of escapism. Yes, Dälek, I actually did know who Medgar Evers was (referring to the line "Tell the truth you never knew who Medgar Evers was", stated in one track). He faced a lot of obstacles and was killed trying to give people like you and I more opportunities for a better future, and his goals have since largely been met, so I'm pretty sure he'd scoff at any mention of how bad you have it.


Score: 8.5/10


"Los Macheteros/Spear Of A Nation"


"Gutter Tactics"

One Be Lo - Project F.E.T.U.S. (2002)

One Be Lo - Project F.E.T.U.S. (2002)

I didn't really expect much from Project F.E.T.U.S. (For Everybody That UnderStands) when I picked it up. Though I thought it'd be worth my time I figured that, having already been involved in two near-classic albums in S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. (Sounds Of Nashid Originate Good Rhymes And Music) and Binary Star's Masters Of The Universe (M.O.T.U.?), One Be Lo couldn't possibly have sustained himself for three in a row. In hindsight, I realize how foolish this was, as Project For Everybody That UnderStands finds Lo in a transitional period, thus combining some of the best elements from both albums.

What immediately stands out is the beats. I've never payed much attention to One Be Lo or Decompoze's production on Lo's other albums, but here they command more attention. That's partly because of how varied they are, which could be seen as a flaw since the album has trouble establishing much in the way of harmony as far as production goes. But considering this was originally supposed to be a mixtape, it's easy to forgive. For what must have been a fairly low budget recording, overall they're well done. Fittingly, the re-released version of the album comes with a second disk of instrumental tracks.

Lyrically, Project For Everybody That UnderStands has more in common with M.O.T.U. than Sounds Of Nashid Originate Good Rhymes And Music, as Lo is still more of a battle rapper whereas on Sounds Of Nashid Originate Good Rhymes And Music he moves onto the more conscious rap route. There are several clever, "dope punchline[s]" on this album that I wish I had thought of myself, including, but not limited to:

"For every promise made I fulfill with the skill
No matter what the doctor prescribe I stay ill."

"Them cats know they ain't live
Like Bruce Willis in Sixth Sense."

"You're rhymes worth piss in a pot
If knowledge was the key you'd be picking the lock."

"I'd probably have to get a second job
And you know I got a felony so it's like 'Hi! Welcome to Burger King!'"

And my absolute favorite:

"You wanna battle me? What for?
I rock heads like Mount Rushmore: for (four) dead presidents."

Of course, One Be Lo is no stranger to occasional absurdity, as is displayed in the song "The Grinch That...", a cautionary tale warning about the evils of Santa Clause. It's such a silly song (aimed less at the listener and more at the listeners six year old nephew) that if I didn't know any better about him and his devotion to his faith that I might question if it was thrown on the album as a joke. Lo is usually prone to an out of place, ridiculous lyric or two from time to time, but here he just got a little too excited. He's never come off as preachy on other albums that I've heard, but he came closer than ever with this song. Thankfully, this is the albums' only misstep, which he makes up for almost immediately with the mostly spoken word "Candlestick", a type of song that I'd love to hear more of from him.

Overall, this album is almost as good as M.O.T.U. and Sounds Of Nashid Originate Good Rhymes And Music. You'd be hard pressed to find a more prolific artist in the first half of the decade than Lo.


Score: 8/10


"Anybody"


"Fast Food Remix (featuring Magestik Legend, DeCompoze, Illite)"

Binary Star - Masters Of The Universe (2000)

Binary Star - Masters Of The Universe (2000)

Sincerity can be faked, so when I try to think of a word to describe what sets One Be Lo (aka One Man Army) apart from a lot of other rappers -- conscious rappers, more specifically -- I try to avoid slapping the "sincere" label on him. Even if the use of the word is fitting, it still doesn't seem to do justice to the man's talent, which is on display here as one half of the duo Binary Star.

The lyrics on Masters Of The Universe take the standard conscious rap route of comparing their skills to other rappers who are staples of mainstream hip hip. You will probably lose count of how many times the term "wack emcee's" is used. Coming from anyone else, this talk would become tiring, but this is where that whole aforementioned sincerity thing comes into play. The most scathing attack in this vein is found on the standout track "Honest Expression", during which Lo and his partner Senim Silla, in just five minutes, sum up every feeling that I've had about hip hop for the past decade. They vent their frustrations on the cheapening of the music as a whole, it's journey from an expression of the harsh realities of street life to digestible pop hits glorifying said street life, and the rappers who sell themselves out to get a piece of the mainstream success that rap is enjoying as of late. This is still sadly relevant even today. It's hard not to feel their pain on how rap has fallen (yet simultaneously risen), but like most artists that touch on this subject, they're only preaching to the choir.

Fortunately though, Binary Star offers up some variety in the form of story raps. "Wolf Man Jack" is especially well done. It tells the story of a half man, half wolf......named Jack....*cough*. Three neighborhood kids decide to play a joke on a man who claims to have seen Wolf Man Jack, which of course yields disastrous results. Another excellent song, "Glen Close", tells the story of a crazy ex-girlfriend who sabotages Lo's new relationship. These songs and others, if nothing else, take the subject matter off the state of rap music long enough for it to not get annoying and repetitive.

While I wouldn't go as far as calling Masters Of The Universe, as the sticker on the album claims, "a hip hop classic", it is a damn solid album with few, if any, faults, featuring one of the most consistent and (dare I say it) underrated talents the genre has to offer in One Be Lo.


Score: 8.5/10


"Reality Check"


"Wolf Man Jack"

Nas - Untitled (2008)

Nas - Untitled (2008)

"...this is a song about fried chicken?"

I said that aloud to my fiancee as I we were listening to Untitled in my car. On an album that Nas clearly wanted to be viewed as important (what with the controversy surrounding it's working title, Nigger), packed with hard-hitting social commentary and references to important moments and names in black history ranging from slavery to Barack Obama, it was a little surprising to hear this absurd song personifying black peoples' most well-known culinary stereotype. But then I listened to the album more. And to that song more. And now I feel a little silly saying that my favorite song on Untitled, and album filled with hard-hitting social commentary and references to important moments and names in black history ranging from slavery to Barack Obama, is an absurd song personifying black peoples' most well-known culinary stereotype.

This is not to say that the other songs fail. The simplistic, piano-driven intro, "Queens Get The Money", is probably the album's least over-produced song. Adversely, you have songs like "Make The World Go Round" and "Hero" that scream for radio play, coming complete with current hot pop stars (Chris Brown?) and hot producers. Sometimes the over-production works, such as on the track "N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave And The Master)", where the bombastic approach works for the emotion of the song.

Thankfully, Nas is on top of his game lyrically throughout the album, and it's enough to keep your attention on the song topics. It's just a shame that the beat-makers couldn't match him. You'd think that the raw subject matter would call for raw production, yet instead we get 80's synth effects (as on the song "America"). But hey, what do I know? I will, however, give props to DJ Green Lantern for the Tupac sample ("And though it seems heaven sent/We ain't ready to have a black president") on "Black President", because I've been wondering for the last year and a half when someone was going to dig that line up, and frankly was starting to get impatient. Thank you, Mr. Lantern.

Still, I come back to "Fried Chicken". What does this being Untitled's strongest song say about the album as a whole? I feel there's a deeper connection to be made with it that I'm not analyzing properly. So I'll opt for the "it is what it is" philosophy. The passive individuals philosophy of choice. It's the best song just because it's the best song and it doesn't really speak to any underlying meaning. It doesn't require analyzation because the meaning is more obvious than hidden, if there even is a meaning at all. That probably sums up my feelings about this album pretty accurately, actually.

I listen to this album and feel like the ultimate goal should be to promote a deep discussion about black society. One that speaks for a group of people like any good protest album should. Nas does present several issues and talks about them passionately, but in the end I don't feel like any discussion is necessary. Perhaps it's because a lot of the issues here have already been covered before in any number of albums by underground rap artists, or perhaps for some other reasons. But there's no depth to his commentary, so in that sense it kind of fails as a protest album even though it ultimately succeeds as a hip hop album.

I like Untitled more for what it attempts than what it accomplishes. What had the potential to be an eventful album, a What's Going On or It Takes A Nation Of Millions... for a new generation, ends up just being a good album that will probably be overlooked in music history, unfortunately.

Score: 7/10



"Fried Chicken"


"Black President"

Count Bass D - Dwight Spitz (2002)

Count Bass D - Dwight Spitz (2002)

In 2004, Madlib and MF Doom released a collaborative effort under the name of Madvillian. The album, Madvilliany, was met with thunderous approval in the world of indie music. Backpackers all over hailed it as one of the best hip hop albums of the year (which I could agree with), and one of the best hip hop albums of the decade thus far (which I could agree with) if not one of the best hip hop albums of all-time (whoa there). Two years earlier, Count Bass D released this album; similar in style and equally as good, yet largely ignored.

I'm not sure why is this album not as revered in the indie hip hop world as Madvilliany. The similarities between the two are notable, especially in the rapid fire album flow with punk song lengths (and partially because both albums feature MF Doom). I'm not prepared to argue that Count Bass D is better here lyrically than Doom is on Madvilliany, because he isn't, but whereas Doom trumps him in skill they are both about equal when it comes to appeal. Bass D's slightly nasally yet ultra-relaxed baritone delivery exudes tons of personality. And with a host of guest rappers by his side (including Edan and the aforementioned MF Doom), the album feels fresh throughout. Production-wise, Dwight Spitz is at least on par with Madlib's effort in Madvilliany, meaning lots of off-kilter beats layered with obscure and not so obscure samples, but the use of live instruments (played by Bass D himself) give it a feel all its own.

Fans of Madvilliany will be doing themselves a favor by checking this out. It's similar enough to feel familiar but still has it's own unique personality.

Score: 8.5/10


"Subwoofer"


"Real Music vs Bu11$#!+"


"Blues For Percy Carey"

Prolyphic & Reanimator - The Ugly Truth (2008)

Prolyphic & Reanimator - The Ugly Truth (2008)

What do rappers like Dalek, Sage Francis, and Sole have in common? Chances are, if you've heard an album by either of those artists, then you've pretty much heard everything that The Ugly Truth has to offer. This album has trouble escaping mediocrity, though it's probably not so much the fault of Prolyphic's rhyme skills or Reanimator's beats. Well...on second thought, perhaps it is. Don't get me wrong, they're talented dudes. Reanimator really shines with the production; it's well done, consistently interesting, and sets the mood effectively, giving the album a really gritty, almost futuristic street feel. Prolyphic's rhymes take a backseat, but are still solid. I was at first a little turned off by how his nasally voice sometimes resembles Eminem, until I reminded myself that, even though Eminem is a lot of bad things, he is not a bad rapper, so resembling him in this aspect isn't necessarily terrible.

The major beef I have with The Ugly Truth is that I'm just personally so sick of this apocalyptic, dystopian rap shit. I can tolerate commonly revisited topics in hip hop at times, but Prolyphic just doesn't do enough to make me care what he has to say about those topics. I'm more interested in rappers who have a little bit of fun with the music. Not the mainstream party rap, make up a new dance and talk about women and bling kind of fun, but more in the way that they can find other topics to speak about other than the things in the world that suck. There are a few light moments; "Dick & Jane" comes to mind...if you don't pay much attention to the lyrics of course, but that's about it. In hindsight, I suppose the title of the album should've tipped me off.

Other artists have done this style better, and listening to those other artists reveals that the role The Ugly Truth wants to play has already been filled several times over. I personally don't feel there's enough about this album that's different or interesting. But hell, if in 2008 you're still looking for that perfect rap album that offers a bleak view of the world and the state of hip hop, and you've somehow missed out on the tons of albums of that nature that came before this, then by all means, buy this. You won't be disappointed.

Score: 5/10


"Ugly Truth"


"On The Side"