And Music Is Potent, It Goes Straight To The Soul So It's Much More Addictive Than Crack Is

Artist: Black Ice
Album: Death of Willie Lynch

Since the first days of Def Poetry Jam, the popularity of Spoken Word has risen significantly over the years. Black Ice represents a strong force in the Spoken Word community, the conscious male perspective of Hip Hop. His mastery of the English language and deft ability to capture the grievances of the Black community in so few words has earned permanent acclaim by critics and appearances with the likes of Pete Rock and Fabolous. Black Ice has become the voice of the Black community and the Death of Willie Lynch is a compilation of what is arguably his best work.

The album was cleverly titled Death of Willie Lynch, coined of the infamous Willie Lynch letter which describes distinct instructions for controlling Black slaves in order to increase plantation productivity and decrease rebellion. In the dark opening piece, “The Path,” Black Ice references the letter, stating he’s the side effect of the Willie Lynch prescription, staged stereotypically so I always fit the description. His strong introduction prepares the listener for the serious tone of the pre-eminent tracks “The Ugly Show,” “Dream Transferred,” and “Front Page.”

“The Ugly Show” has the most impressive production work of the album. The beat seems to blend with the stanzas of the poem seamlessly. The track is a call of disenfranchisement that criticizes Bush and the American government in accordance with Kanye West’s comments on Bush’s lack of involvement and concern during Hurricane Katrina for Black Americans. The looped statement “You abandoned me, love don’t live here anymore,” embedded throughout the track seems to sum up the opinion of the impoverished individuals within the Black and Latino community.

This themes runs over into “Dream Transferred,” a vivid track on Black Ice’s takeover of the word and “the block” as a response to the famous Langston Hughes poem, “A Dream Deferred,” where Hughes ponders the fate of a remanded aspiration or ambition.

For those acquainted with the work of Black Ice and Def Poetry Jam, “Front Page” seemed almost too familiar. The poem used for the track became on of his listeners’ favorites after they were first introduced to Black Ice during season one of Def Poetry Jam. “Front Page” is a rebuttal to the stubborn, materialistic Black male macho persona. While the poem had an awkward sting due to the inappropriate blend with the beat of the instrumental, the lyrics were still well received and impressive.

The Death of Willie Lynch does have its softer sides in the loved themed songs “Nice2MeetU” and “TakeYaTime,” again using an inspired title, this time from the featured artist Musiq Soulchild, who is notorious for removing the spaces between the words of his song titles.

The addition of music to Black Ice’s poetry made the Death of Willie Lynch a hint at Black Ice’s desire to crossover into rap. Hopefully, the gangster dominated industry will be accepting of Black Ice’s more conscious take on self expression because the Death of Willie Lynch has proved Black Ice to be a lyrical great.

Overall: 8

Food & Liquor Stores Rest On Every Corner

Artist: Lupe Fiasco
Album: Food & Liquor

Lupe Fiasco’s debut album, Food & Liquor, solidifies him as one of the industry’s top emerging artists from Chicago’s underground. After several mixtapes and unfortunate leaks of the early versions of his album, Lupe has revamped his sound and style for his freshman album. With the accompaniment of Hip Hop dignitaries, Jill Scott and Jay-Z as well as hit-makers, The Neptunes, Kanye West and Soundtrakk, Lupe blazes through 16 notable tracks on an anthology of his best lyrical ability and production credits.

Lupe starts the album strong with tracks “Real,” “Just Might Be Okay,” and his first single, “Kick Push.” “Kick Push,” in combination with the efforts of N.E.R.D. constituent, Pharrell Williams, birthed the new trend of skateboard culture in Hip Hop and virtually put Lupe Fiasco on the map for those who had slept on his underground tracks or appearances with Kanye West, K Fox, and Tha Rayne.

Lupe’s second single in the U.S.,”I Gotcha,” with the skilled production of The Neptunes, has proven itself to be the most radio friendly and dangerously addictive track on the album. “I Gotcha” is followed by ballads, “The Instrumental” and “He Say She Say,” a song depicting Lupe’s father/son relationship and the toll it had on his coming of age.

Food & Liquor reveals its grassroots movement undertone with tracks “Sunshine,” a Common esque ode to Hip Hop, “Daydreamin,” an insult to the current state of the rap music industry featuring the neosoul vocals of Jill Scott, and “Hurt Me Soul,” a reflection on the darker sides of society. “Sunshine” can easily be misconstrued simply as a love song by less attentive listeners, but to the skilled ear, it is understood to be reminiscent of Common’s rap classic, “I Used to Love H.E.R.,” a tribute to Hip Hop culture disguised as a love song that depicts the de-evolution of Hip Hop as mainstream appeal increased.

Its like, don’t give the Black man food, give the red man liquor
Red man,
fool, black man, nigga
Give yellow man tool, make him railroad builda
Also, give him pan; make him pull gold from river
Give Black man crack,
glocks to teens
Give red man craps, slot machines
Now bring it back

“American Terrorist” is quite arguably the most controversial song on the album. The song portrays the plight of minority groups in America and criticizes warfare over tensions between religious affiliations. As a follower of Islam, Lupe Fiasco felt it imperative that he express his views on the war on terrorism and Iraq to remove possible confusion and denounce stereotypes.

The album ends with “The Emperor’s Soundtrack” and a part II to the leading single, “Kick Push,” which tells the story of troubled teens who use skateboarding as a form of release. The “Kick Push” b-side, adds dimension to the skateboarder references and personality to Lupe’s image.

After an outro giving a bevy of shout-outs to Lupe’s contributors, supporters and influences, it was no mystery as to why Food & Liquor was one of the most anticipated albums of the year. Lupe Fiasco has entered the mainstream on a strong front, leaving many fans in a state of curiosity similar to when NaS, Blackstar and The Roots first debuted, wondering if the next album could beat a classic.

Beats: 7.5
Rhymes: 8
Overall: 8


Published: The Hilltop
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Let It Rain, Now Clear It Out

All too often history turns its ugly head and repeats itself. One hundred some odd years ago, White Americans entertained themselves by putting on minstrel shows.This minstrel show consisted of African Americans with black painted faces and white and red clown mouths, where they would dance around and perform skits that made African Americans come off as uneducated, absent minded and lacking any form of common sense. The minstrel show became a widespread form of entertainment and has returned today in an unsuspecting form. While many of today's top rap artists can be comparable to minstrel show characters due to their exploitation of Black and Latino culture, I would like to instead direct your attention specifically to the dance moves found in some of the latest radio hits.

Radio heads have found themselves doing everything from snapping and jocking to leaning and walking as dance related tracks continue to stream on radio stations across the country. While said dances may seem harmless, the most recent and popular dance craze, Chicken Noodle Soup, has had critics raising their eyebrows to its origins. The Chicken Noodle Soup dance includes footwork similar to waddling which coincidentally, is how Blacks were portrayed during minstrel shows, "waddling fools" who danced because they were too simpleminded to accomplish anything of substance. Why the topic of Chicken Noodle Soup became a dance or even a song is oblivious to most but the history behind the moves is much more subtle. While such dances don't need to necessarily be condemned, the Hip Hop community however, shouldn't conform to a new dance craze simply because a rapper mentioned it in his or her music.

Never allow the media to tell you what you should like, tell the media what you like and they will hopefully, adhere to it. I can't stress enough how insulting it was when BET announced it chose to ban artists such as Little Brother and A Tribe Called Quest because their music was "too intelligent" for its viewers. That was as if too say the Black community lacked the ability to be socially conscious. It would be unfair to say that the Hip Hop community generally does not favor "conscious" music if media outlets such as BET refuse to air the videos. The viewers are subliminally being directed towards liking a certain type of music and until viewers are given a choice, artists like NaS cannot deem Hip Hop dead. Hip Hop is not dead; its possibilities have yet to be revealed.

Published: MVRemix
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Girls You Know You Better...Watch Out

Light contacts, long hair and a skin tone shades lighter than we had remembered her, during her affair with the late Biggie Smalls. This shows to say what a big record deal, insecurity, mainstream influence, and a few hundred years of conditioning can buy you.

She's dropped several albums, one even to an impressive double platinum status and her most recent piece, "The Naked Truth," has even broken boundaries as the first album by a female artist to be given the accredited "5 mic" rating by The Source magazine. By industry standards, she is the culmination of Hip Hop's female evolution. She is our…strong Black female.

There she stands. The future of Rap for women across the country, Lil Kim. Accompanied by the likes of Trina, Remy Ma, Foxy Brown and Jackie-O, Lil Kim has symbolized the result of a misogynistic Rap game, an oversexed mainstream and a void of talent unmatched by any female in the industry since Lauryn Hill. If it wasn't a sex icon rapper it was the masculine females like MC Lyte or Queen Latifah who earned little respect for their street-like appeal or contributions to Hip Hop. But let us not forget the confused artists like Missy Elliott and Da Brat, who limboed between the two artist molds as the trends changed to work in their favor.

It's just as the author of Can't Stop Won't Stop, Jeff Chang, said; every female artist has either filled the mold of a "boy toy" or a tomboy. Because Rap is such a male dominated genre, female artists are either emulating the male artists' definitions of masculinity by using a tomboy image, or using sex appeal to set themselves apart. The "boy toys" are viewed as nothing more than "pieces of ass" and the tomboys are pushed aside as "one of the guys." Both however, do not receive any respect or acclaim from their male counterparts or the media.

Where are our strong females?

We last saw one at the Grammys, where she won an unprecedented 8 awards in 1999. Lauryn Hill was the epitome of a strong Black female and a jack of all trades. Her lyrical ability paralleled that of some of Rap's greatests and her voice, production and songwriting capabilities made her a well rounded commodity, yet today we see no one of the like.

Has Hip Hop become so naïve that we've allowed corporate America and pop culture trends to transcend our women from queens to soft porn stars? It's literally embarrassing to remain speechless when music enthusiasts ask who are today's female movers and shakers, simply because the only viable responses are insulting. Who are our children's role models, because it is evident that R&B holds no hope in that realm when our chart toppers, Cassie and Beyonce lay scantily clad in their videos asking the audience "tell me how you like it" and to "check up on it" respectively. Women have made significant strides in the workforce so the backwards sprint in music is quite frankly, sad and appalling.

Like in the "conscious" vs. the "gangster" rap debate, many argue that it's just music. Simply entertainment made to pass the time and give listeners something to dance and shoot the breeze to; But when that entertainment just enforces racial profiling and discourages fathers from birthing daughters, in fear that they might discover their "S.E.X." sooner than they would expect, is it still just entertainment? Like Black Ice says, "music is potent it goes straight to the soul so it's much more addictive than crack is." Dead Prez argues that we "can't sell dope forever" but in essence we can. Hip Hop has been dealt into one of the most influential cultural epidemics but like crack, Hip Hop constituents will be left dead, broke and forgotten if we let it get out of hand.

So the next time you hear that oversexed, beat driven club banger from Remy Ma or Kim, hesitate to nod your head in agreement, because our "strong Black female" might be the first Rap element to disappear.

Published: MVRemix
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