MICEVE "FROWNS"

I got a CD from this young MC named M.I.C.E.V.E and it’s pretty tight. Though he’s got an array of influences which you can tell from his flow and the music he uses, he brings youthful energy and a hot delivery along with an awareness of the realities and corruption in the hoods of America.

Even though he’s real when he tries to show where he’s coming from, there is a certain intelligence that he brings with it. He’s not just trying to “wild out” or “get crunk”, he’s talking about prostitution, crooked police, and even entertainment and its influence of black youths.

Coming out of Dayton, Ohio, the home of many legendary funk artists, he’s reppin’ a new generation of artists with hip hop. I liked his sampling of souful slow jams on the first two songs of his CD “Frowns”. With his various beats and styles of music, he creates powerful anthems of ghetto angst and anger.

Though some of the production is low budget and pretty rough at times, I still found some songs I liked, such as the “Pimps Commodity” and “Copland”. I’d like to hear what this MC can do with more resources. Most artists who got the big budget record deals got the beats but no skills on the mic. Plus, he talks about stuff most of these MTV cats won’t even touch. Check out his CD on his site, he’s also on Myspace!

Hyper-Masculine and Misogynist Violence in Chicano Rap

Piggybacking off my last post on Chicano rap, I found an article that covers the mentality behind Chicano rap. Really interesting stuff. Quote:

In the last four years the violence of Chicano rap has made a profound impression on me. Chicano rappers rap about hitting each other, hitting cops, and hitting and abusing women. My first question was why do these young men spend so much time thinking about, writing about, and listening to stories of violence? For me, rap and hip hop culture, had been about escaping violence and oppression. It was about getting together and expressing ourselves with our bodies and voices. Of course, break-dancing battles often turned violent and people fought at parties that showcased hip hop culture. Nonetheless, hip hop was mostly a safe space. So, why all the violence in Chicano rap today?

Check out the rest on the site Bad Subjects!

It's on! The PA primaries!

The suspense is getting to me. Tommorow, history will be made. The final countdown. Hillary or Obama? I would say that right about now I dont really have a side. I've casted my vote, done my thing, now its time for everybody in PA to do theirs. The "Potomac Primary" in this area (DC/MD/VA) was nothing more than notches on Obama's belt! It's been the most exciting, riveting election season, and this is the day we've all been waiting for. May the best person win!

Blood In Blood Out&Chicano rap!

I just saw the movie Blood In Blood Out, the story of 3 Chicano brothers struggling with the realities of life in barrio in East Los Angeles. It's a classic Latino hip hop epic! See it if you havent yet! I went to download a bunch of Chicano gangsta rap. Below is my list of top jams, check them out, they are all on Emusic.com. The album names are highlighted in brown! This music is pretty harsh, glorifies gangstadom, and is violent. Its bound to piss off a lot of old white folks and alot of others. Parental guidance iz advised, as Eazy E would say. LOL.

Angel Baby 2003 - Mr. Capone-e Rap N Oldies
Another Sunny Day - Lighter Shade Of Brown Chicano Rap Smooth Jams
Are You Sure? - Lil Boy V Chicano Rap Old School
Bounce, Rock - Ghost, Lil Crook Chicano Rap Old School
Bumpin' feat. Nino B & Frost Jay Tee So Cold
Father, Father - Proper Dos Chicano Rap Smooth Jams
Gangster Love - Young Wicks, Baby Wicked, Mister D Chicano Rap Smooth Jams
Gangsters Get Lonely Too (Remix) feat. Mister D,Sleepy Malo&Lil Blacky) Lil Crook Southland Style
I Do Love You - Hispanic MC's Rap N Oldies
Latin Nights - Deuce Mob Rap N Oldies
Lowride True Blue-Gangsters
Mexican Power - Proper Dos Rap N Oldies
My Coupdavil - ALT, Slow Pain Rap N Oldies
No Sunshine - Frost Rap N Oldies
On A Sunday - DTTX The Story Of Chicano Rap
Pepe Le Pew feat. Frost & SPM Jay Tee So Cold
Shots To The Dome feat. Don Cisco & Baby Bash Jay Tee So Cold
So Ruff, So Tuff Conejo The City Of Los Angeles Best of Volume 2
Somos Mexicanos (Spanish) - Mr. Trippalot Lowrider Hip Hop
Thin Line - Frost
This Is How We Riding (Radio) (feat. Sleepy Malo) Lil Blacky & Lil Sicko Southland Ballin'
Time Goes By - Ese Bobby Chicano Rap Smooth Jams
Together - Tierra Rap N Oldies
Traficante No Llores Capone Chicano World Dos
The Wanna Be Fool - Toddy Tee Rap N Oldies
We Riding Low (feat. Tattoo Ink) Conejo The City Of Los Angeles Best of Volume 2
Won't You Be My Man (Another Slow Jam) (Radio) Lil Blacky & Lil Sicko Southland Ballin'
World Famous - Lighter Shade Of Brown The Story Of Chicano Rap

New High In U.S. Prison Numbers

I don't think that people recognize the massive prison industrial complex that makes lots of $.

More than one in 100 adults in the United States is in jail or prison, an all-time high that is costing state governments nearly $50 billion a year and the federal government $5 billion more, according to a report released yesterday.

A necessary evil? I don't know, but somebody is gettin' paid lovely off this. Read more about this problem here.

The YMD:Excuse Me, This is the Yah Mos Def

The YMD is an alternative/punk/hip hop group from Philly. This music reminds me so much of the Beastie Boys when they started and this other group called the Bloodhound Gang. One of them sounds like a young Ad-Rock! The tracks are basically very rough around the edges but great to listen to; simple yet catchy. This album brings me back to the 90s when there was that whole era of rap/punk/alt rock mixtures. If you want something different, new, energetic and fresh, check out YMD on EMUSIC, Amazon and on Myspace!

Mr Rashad-Mind State


Real hip hop doesn't come easy that much anymore. Just seeing the "BET Notarized" a couple days ago, the top 100 videos of 2007 only had one real hip hop artist, Common. The rest were the usual hip pop stars and starlets that permeate the radio stations in every station owned by the same company in every city in the USA.

So, when I find something real and underground, I expect something that will have me thinking this is some real music. Thats why I decided to check out Mr Rashad.With a cool album cover like this of a boombox radio as a head, I knew this had to be interesting. Here I thought that this was going to be some music that would be so unlike all the stuff on BET.

However, this album was good. What this group delivers is straight up beats and rhymes. There is alot of sampling and elements of blues, jazz, soul, and funk. The dudes can definately rap, and the tracks, though they sound low budget, bump.

There are a couple of items I would suggest as feedback. Some of the songs on here are good but end abruptly. I was getting into such songs as "Success", "The Stretch" and "Say A", but they would end, making me think that this was a promotional sampler as oppossed to a real album.

The album did have some high points which I enjoyed. There was the sample of one of the songs from "The Mack" soundtrack on "Can It Be" and the bangin' beat on "Live It Up". All in all, if you like an album of just straight up hip hop to just chill out to, then this is for you. I would personally put "Can It Be" and "Live It Up" on my Ipod.

You can get this album on Emusic.

Hot EMUSIC Tracks 2007

This might well be my last post for the year 2007. Below is a list of my 40 favorite tracks that I downloaded off EMUSIC. This list includes Hip Hop, R&B, Chicano rap, and Hip Hop from other countries. Most of the albums the songs were on were released in 2007, and a few (like Madlib) were released in 2006, but I downloaded them all last year. Where I could, I put the name of the song, the artist, and the name of the album the song is on. Check them out,search for them on the site, download them.

Aduna Bi - Adama- Nomadic Wax -African Underground: The Depths of Dakar
African Rhythms (Remix) -Blind Alphabetz-Luvolution
Amerikan Gangster (featuring e.infinite)-Public Enemy-How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?
Ari Ari (Rock) - Bombay Rockers, Overseas-Bombay Rockers Crash & Burn
Belly Of The Beast-The Lords of the Underground-House of
Change-Blind Alphabetz-Luvolution
Cry Me a River-Diomay-French Dirty South Mixtape
Did What We Had To Do (Clean)-Statik Selektah-No Holding Back
Don't Watch TV All Day (test) -SIAFU (Infinito 2017 and Thaione Davis)-Morning of the Conquest
Fear Don't Live Here (Mixtape mix) -Molemen-The Biz Mixtape
Hail Mary 2006 -King Kan-Hail Mary 2006
Half a Chance (feat. Chino) -Angie Stone-The Art of Love & War
Inner G Feat. Ras Kass, Canibus & Kurupt-Killah Priest
It Lives On-Shape Of Broad Minds-Craft Of The Lost
Just a Lowride-Cuete-Heat Under the Seat
Keep on Callin' (feat. Akon) -Joell Ortiz-The Brick
Mein Sound- Fler-Various Artists-Wir nehmen auch Euro
Mii Hood (Remix) -AUBURN-Same GiiRL
New Bombay-Madlib-Beat Konducta Vol. 3 & 4: In India
Pick-a-Part-Aceyalone, Jah Orah-Aceyalone- Lightning Strikes (Non-Explicit)
Primetime-Blitzkrieg & Tigerstyle-Blitzkrieg-The Rhyme Book
Rising To The Top-KRS-One & Marley Marl
Sensi Party-Wise Intelligent-The Talented Timothy Taylor
Smithereens-El-P-I'll Sleep When You're Dead
Smoke If You Got 'um-Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic-Rob Sonic-Sabotage
Spit It Clearly-Dilated Peoples, The Alchemist-Dilated Peoples-The Release Party
Spread The Word-Young Sicc-Spread The Word
Survivor-40 Cal feat. Akon-Survivor
Sympathy-Gmf -Grand Mother's Funck-At The Funckyard
The Ultimate-Boombox ATX- Feel The Boombox
Toppa Di list-Sean Paul & Wyclef Jean-Various Artists-Sidewalk
Trilla - Gorilla Zoe feat. Rick Ross-Gorilla Zoe-Hood Nigga Diaries
Veni Vidi Vici-Diamond Diggy feat. Donat-Diamond Diggy-Veni Vidi Vici
Vibe-Dogg Pound feat.Snoop Dogg Tha Dogg Pound-Dogg Chit
Wait On Me-Guru feat.Raheem DeVaughn Guru-Jazzmatazz 4 The Hip Hop Jazz Messenger "Back To The Future"
Werd Up!-Willis-Various Artists - Ubiquity- Rewind! 4
White Kids Aren't Hyphy-MC Lars-White Kids Aren't Hyphy
Who Am I?- Da Truth feat. Tye Tribbett-Da Truth-Open Book
Who Discovered It?-Flocabulary-Hip-Hop U.S. History

Happy New Year everybody!

RIP PIMP C


Damn...I had to just think this one through a bit. I can't believe it happened. My condolences to his family and friends.....Beats and Rants has a bio, and TMZ has the full story.

WILD STYLE,THE 25th ANNIVERSARY EDITION OUT NOW!!‏


Filming on location in the South Bronx in 1982, director Charlie Ahearn captured a rare look at the true origins of hip-hop culture with his groundbreaking film WILD STYLE. Featuring appearances by such legendary and influential old-school giants as Grandmaster Flash, Fab 5 Freddy, Cold Crush Brothers, Rock Steady Crew and Chief Rocker Busy Bee, this groundbreaking film is recognized worldwide as the premier hip-hop film and was inducted by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 10 best rock 'n' roll movies of all time. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of this captivating time capsule, Rhino will release a special edition of the DVD expanded with new extras including a mini documentary, footage of a 20th anniversary concert, interviews and unreleased photos. WILD STYLE will be available October 23 at all retail outlets and www.rhino.com for a suggested retail price of $14.95.

The DVD contains a digital transfer from the original 16mm film with commentary by director Ahearn and Fab 5 Freddy. Several extras debut on the special anniversary edition of WILD STYLE including a mini documentary featuring interviews with Fab 5 Freddy, Lee Quinones, Busy Bee, Lady Pink and Ahearn plus footage from the 20th anniversary concert held at the original amphitheater, a "Bongo Barbershop" DJ battle in the Bronx featuring Grand Master Caz, a new musical short with Busy Bee titled "Busy On The Beach," scenes from the 25th Anniversary Wild Style Reunion Show and an expanded gallery with unreleased photos.

The film follows the exploits of maverick tagger Zoro (real life graffiti artist Lee Quinones), whose work attracts the attention of an East Village art fancier (Patti Astor) and is commissioned to paint the stage for a giant Rapper's Convention. An authentic documentation of the early days of hip-hop in the boroughs of New York, everything in WILD STYLE is real -- the story, style, characters, and most of the actors, are drawn from the community.

The film shows many early hip-hop personalities in action before they went on to acquire national acclaim. Chief among these is Fab 5 Freddy, who hosted Yo! MTV Raps from its inception and plays the brash rap promoter Phade in the movie. Producer/director/writer Ahearn credits Freddy for the film's vision of hip-hop as a unified culture. WILD STYLE may not have been the first movie featuring rappers, but was the first to link graffiti, break dancing, DJing and document the birth of hip-hop nation.

DVD EXTRAS:
A documentary short featuring footage from the 20th Anniversary concert and
new interviews with: Fab 5 Freddy, Busy Bee, Lady Pink, Charlie Ahearn
Bongo Barbershop featuring Grandmaster Caz
Busy Bee interview
Expanded gallery with unreleased photos

Rolling Stone has Wild Style as the #7 music video of all time on their website.

Check out the official website for Wild Style, the movie!

Quote of the day!

"You cannot make a powerful Afro American culture if you're going to base it on what hustlers and pimps think about the world."

-The Source 12/90 pg.39

Sexy rap videos suspected to be damaging to young girls

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Watching rap music videos that are overly sexy and violent can lead to alcohol abuse and promiscuity among young black girls, according to a study into sexual stereotypes in rap music footage.

The research was based on a survey of 522 African-American girls aged 14 to 18 who were asked how often they watched rap videos, questioned about their sex lives and asked to provide a urine sample for a marijuana screening.

U.S. researchers found young black girls who spent more time watching rap music videos were more likely to binge drink, have sex with multiple partners, test positive for marijuana and have a negative body image.

Check it out on Reuters and EVIP List

The 'ideals' of thug culture are destroying black Americans

Somewhere along the way, a cadre of young black men and women began glorifying violence, misogyny and thuggishness, accepting incarceration as inevitable, resigning themselves to lives on the margins of mainstream society. They created a thug culture that has been commodified — celebrated in music and movies, sold to poor adolescents in wretched neighborhoods as well as affluent teenagers in upscale communities.

Check out the rest in the ATL Journal

Lupe Fiasco:Hip Hop 101?

On the one hand, I sometimes find it funny how people obsess over trivial stuff like Lupe Fiasco messing up one line from Electric Relaxation in the VH1 Hip Hop Honors show honoring Tribe Called Quest.

On the other hand, I find it strange that Lupe's, who grew up listening to gangsta and dirty south rappers, became more of an artist like Tribe Called Quest and not the gangsta rappers he grew up listening to. Strange.

Hip Hop DX:"*Update* Lupe Fiasco Clears The Air On Hip Hop Honors

Happy Birthday to the Black Panther Party!



The core of the organization at its inception in 1966 were close friends Huey P. Newton, Bobby Seale, and Richard Aoki in the city of Oakland, California. The three had been witness to a radical ferment in the Bay Area and the United States, taking part in protests against the Vietnam War and having an interest in the American Civil Rights Movement.

Like many people of color of their generation, Newton and Seale had been frustrated by the doctrine of nonviolence as espoused by mainstream civil rights leaders such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as the inaction of the white-dominated radical groups. They looked instead to the black nationalism of Malcolm X as well as the discipline shown by its paramilitary organization, Fruit of Islam. They also looked to proponents of armed self-defense within the civil rights movement, such as the Deacons for Defense and Justice as well as exiled former NAACP chapter president Robert F. Williams for example, and they were particularly inspired by Williams's book Negroes with Guns.

Contemporaneous to this rise in America's domestic radicalism was an interest in Marxist-Leninist Third World liberation movements, across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Seale, Newton, and Aoki held a great interest in the philosophies and writings of Mao Tse-Tung, Ho Chi Minh, Frantz Fanon, Che Guevara, and Steve Biko.

After doing a stint in prison for assault, Huey Newton returned to the campus of Oakland City College where he had matriculated. He became fed up with the intertia of the Afro-American Association, the student group to which he and Seale belonged. Seale and Newton discussed the need for militancy in the face of an oppressive system. The two came to an agreement over the specifics, and the 10 Point Program and Platform was born. Continued on Experience Festival!

The great hip hop debates


This week was a week of the great hip hop debates. First, there was the special Hip Hop vs. America, and then there was also the Congressional Hearing on hip hop. I haven't had a chance to see the BET special; its on the BET website. I did see the Congressional hearing on hip hop, which though it didnt accomplish much, was very interesting.

One thing about these debates was two artists who were prominent in the debates; Master P and David Banner. Master P has been written off by alot of writers who want to prove how "down" they are as somebody who is more or less irrelevant and washed up. However, in the Congressional hearing I did like how he emphasized that all the music he put out in the past that was negative he was sorry for; he realizes the responsibility he has as an artist. Though his popularity is questionable, I think that he is by default the only person who could represent his stance; I dont really hear or see any other artists making such a claim. Good for him.

David Banner was also at the Congressional Hearing and I thought he represented really well. He's at the forefront now of the "Dirty South" music scene, and he is known for straight strip club music, songs like "Like A Pimp" and "Play". I say that he is known for that; you'd have to hear all his music to know what he's about; he does note the conflicts of his genre in some of his songs. These conflicts came out in his testimony; that of commerce vs. positivity.

Many of the politicians were very judgemental of David Banner; its like they want so badly for him to put out a "positive message", but then he tried to say that he's got pressure from his fans, record execs, and then there is the issue of making money. The politicians I feel needed to get off their high horses, after all, they can be brought like David Banner can be brought; and their actions are far from clean, as much as David Banners actions are far from clean.

Though David Banner's music may leave much to be desired morally, I really dont think its the politician's place to urge David to make "positive" music. Dave made a good point,clean the streets and we will make clean music. But the moral conflicts that affect David Banner's choice of the music he makes are no different than the moral conflicts that pervade the politicians and their choices.

Whatever the solution to the "problem" of hip hop lyrics, what I took away from this long and drawn out hearing is that though there are lots of interesting and colorful theories and opinions that hip hop feminists, conservatives, intellectuals and psychologists can bring to the table, there simply isn't and will never be a political solution to this issue. These politicians have no place in dictating or influencing culture. Period.

Hip Hop Activist Beat Down By Police on Capitol Hill



Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jr., president of the Hip Hop Caucus, was attacked by six capitol police yesterday, when he was stopped from entering the Cannon Caucus Room on Capitol Hill, where General Petraeus gave testimony today to a joint hearing for the House Arms Services Committee and Foreign Relations Committee on the war in Iraq.

After waiting in line throughout the morning for the hearing that was scheduled to start at 12:30pm, Rev. Yearwood was stopped from entering the room, while others behind him were allowed to enter. He told the officers who were blocking his ability to enter the room, that he was waiting in line with everyone else and had the right to enter as well.

When they threatened him with arrest he responded with "I will not be arrested today." According to witnesses, six capitol police, without warning, "football tackled" him. He was carried off in a wheel chair by DC Fire and Emergency to George Washington Hospital.

Rev. Yearwood said, as he was being released from the hospital to be taken to central booking, "The officers decided I was not going to get in Gen. Petraeus' hearing when they saw my button, which says 'I LOVE THE PEOPLE OF IRAQ.'"

Rev. Yearwood is expected to be charged with Assaulting a Police Officer this afternoon.

Stay tuned for more on how this case plays out. All we can say is, is this really what democracy looks like?

For Future Generations,
The Hip Hop Caucus

Thanks to Davy D for getting this out!

Jay Eff Kay-America Suicide Notes Vol 1

Political and "experimental" rap is not easy to pull off. Wise Intelligent and Public Enemy do it well with their firm black radical/Nation of Islam/5% beliefs. Other rappers like Talib Kweli and Mos Def are political but don’t put their music out in such a way that makes you think they are. The problem with political rap is that it can be boring. Hip Hoppers don’t like to be preached to, and its like pulling teeth to really get something like voting or protesting done if the audience doesn’t give a damn in the first place. Back in like the early 90’s or so there were groups like The Consolidated, The Goats and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, which put out good albums and did good shows, but they produced nothing more than a collective yawn from hip hoppers. The reason they were not successful was not that the music wasn’t good, it was just too serious, and nobody but a very small audience cared. Presentation is everything, and rapper Jay Eff Kay raps and reflects on politics and life in the crazy suburbs and shows and proves that you don’t have to be from the hood to be wild and crazy; Middle America is crazy enough!

Jay Eff Kay is wild, and he’s what I would describe as Eminem if he only had a brain! When I heard Eminem’s song “Mosh”, hyped up to be such a political song because it was anti-Bush and was supposed to coincide with the 2004 presidential election, I was disappointed by how mediocore it was! Jay is somebody who did everything he thought he was supposed to do. He went to college, got a job, but then he got fed up and decided to rap. Jay had a high paying job too, but rather than beating the crap out of his boss, he uses music to unleash all his rage that experience produced. He can talk political, but Jay doesn’t just talk politics. His album is divided into the 3 acts: the superego, in which he talks about politics and current events; the ego, which has some personal reflection on who he is and where he’s been, and the id in which he goes wild with songs about sex and wanton violence.

Jay Eff Kay has metaphors and tons of punchlines and a wicked sense of humor. I’ve listened to tons of MC’s, but Jay is one of the rare instances of a rapper so in tune to current events, who can spit it all out in one song and make it sound interesting. He touches on the religious right, immigration, Amy Fisher, Facebook, paranoia in the age of terror, and everything that defines living in post 9/11 America. My favorite song has to be one called “Den of Rats”, in which Jay raps about the corporate takeover of the world. He makes the point that the political parties are all the same and they are owned by the same companies and people. Though I like everything Jay raps about, the music is good but the production is alright. With every change from id to ego to superego, the music changes and fits his every mood.

There’s an audience for this music, and if given a chance this album could do really well. For anybody who’s ever been pissed off at the system, or anybody who’s pissed about everything going on in the world today, this is for you. Vulgar, cynical and sarcastic, this is good music.

Check Jay out on his website. He's also on Myspace!

Jay Eff Kay at The Tank, NYC

Public Enemy:How You Sell Soul to a Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?

I think it’s the truest thing to say that this hip hop generation, which was born when Public Enemy first came out in 1987, looks at Public Enemy the way that people my age (I started college when PE’s second album came out) used to look at the Last Poets. Despite Flavor Flav and his antics on the VH1 channel, I think the kids today would listen to PE and have that reaction when I first heard the Last Poets and think “What Is This?” I couldn’t accept this brand of rap at first even though it was a major influence on Public Enemy and many other artists of the time. Rap has changed in many ways, but when you listen to this album you realize that Public Enemy has not changed.

I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. I started listening to Public Enemy back in 1987 when their classic album Yo! Bum Rush The Show came out. At the time, this album and the group was the cutting edge of hip hop. Chuck D is quick to remind people on this album that they have been 20 years in the game. In 1988 they dropped the bomb on the Hip Hop nation, “It Takes A Nation of Millions To Hold Us Back”. This was hands down the most influential record in rap history. So much changed after this record came out, and it ended a lot of careers of artists who came before. Of course I had to buy “Fear Of A Black Planet” the day it came out. That was in 1990, and I remember they did a memorable concert that year for the Howard University Homecoming.

Then along the way PE started trying to “expand” their audience. They had always put rock music in their music like Chuck D’s favorite rap group RUN DMC, but with the record Apocalypse ’91, they took things to a whole other level. I like rock music, but I think going on tour with Anthrax was okay, but they just got swept up in all the commercialism that went with that. Also, the crowd that liked PE started to change, and a bunch of people wearing “X” caps to advertise the Malcolm X movie would’ve sat well with me if I knew that these kids really knew who Malcolm X was and weren’t following some fashion trend. It was starting to look bad; the fall of PE was inevitable.

After Apocalypse ’91, shortly after I graduated from college; and moved on to focusing on buying into some of the newer stuff that was coming out. I didn’t buy the next album; I hated the title and the first single. I didn’t bother buying the next album, or the one after that. I got the “He Got Game” soundtrack from a friend who gave it to me. So this album is the first PE album I have brought(through Emusic) in like 15 years.

This is my impression of this album. It sounds like PE was in a time capsule for like 10-15 years, came out and released an album. The old days of the Bomb Squad production team and their layers of sound on top of sound is long gone. Now, the production that is used includes simplistic funk music sampling used by rappers in the early 90s, rock guitars (of course!), generic rap beats and tracks and even some techno/industrial sounding stuff. Maybe the emphasis is their message, or maybe it comes down to the simple fact that anybody who is still listening to PE doesn’t really care about the production; and it’s a given that PE wont be calling Timbaland or Jazze Pha for ideas! My problem with this approach is that for me, it simply doesn’t work!

What about PE’s politics? PE has not strayed at all from what they used to say in the old days of rap. The black male is still under attack, black men are still part of the prison population, and PE is still harassed by the Feds. Maybe there is some things I don’t know about this album, but why does PE seem so oblivious to the realities of 9/11 America? Why say the same old things when its not the same time or the same situations? Then there’s Flavor Flav. He raps as though “Flavor of Love” never happened. Maybe this album was made before “Flavor of Love” #1, but I thought before I listened to this that Flav had some explaining to do, but I heard nothing. Flav is a very good rapper, and he has some classic songs under his belt, like “911 Is A Joke” and “Can’t Do Nothing For Ya” from the House Party soundtrack. I would’ve loved to hear something like that on this record.

But on a lighter note, one thing can be said about PE’s aging pro-black message. Even if you’ve grown and you aren’t thinking about these type of issues PE addresses like you did in the past, PE is still here to say that all this is still relevant and important. That’s why I could stick with PE; despite the mistakes Chuck and Flav have made, you will still have to respect their conviction. Some might say that especially Flav is phony and a one man minstrel show, but I really think that these guys are for real.

So who will buy it? I think that there will always be a market for PE; aging rap fans who remember when listening to PE was “cool”. Most of these people can’t like today’s rap no matter how much they try; for them T.I. might mean “Totally Ignorant”. There’s many other types of PE fans, and there will always be PE fans all over the world who, despite the simplicity and inconsistency of their music, message and actions, will always want to hear PE remind everybody how messed up things still are for black people in America.

Favorite songs: "
How You Sell Your Soul..." sounds like that ol'school PE I was used to, one of the better songs on the album
"Black Is Back"great to hear a James Brown sample being used, and its great to hear a rapper say Black Is Back; I havent heard that in a long time.
"Harder Than You Think" I like the guitar and the soulful feel of this one
"Amerikan Gangster"liked the guest rappers flow
"Escapism"-like the funk sample in this, Chuck does a spoken word routine where he touches on the Iraq War, black males being under attack, and knowing your history.
"See Something, Say Something"-favorite beat on the album, Chuck raps about the Panthers and black politics of back in the day and how PE fits into that and its relevance for today. He also gives an interesting twist on what a "snitch" is.
"Eve of Destruction"-great song that wraps up the album; kinda sounds like a techno/industrial/rock spoken word piece.
Download off EMUSIC, or buy from Amazon. Check out Public Enemy's site.