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| RapReview Of The Week |
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"Individuals who are never satisfied with the static standards set by the masses -- the masses have always been lethargic. They have always opposed greatness for it is beyond them to even... comprehend greatness." Framed in elitism the statement can almost be viewed as offensive, but the key word in that excerpt is "lethargic" and it often accurately describes the most profitable structure of the music business. Ideal consumers need not discuss, think or even read about music (which unfortunately for RapReviews means they're not here right now) - they need only to hear the latest popular song on the radio and buy the album that goes along with it. As brilliant as Organized Konfusion's self-titled debut was the lack of mainstream radio play meant that a largely lethargic consumer audience would never be exposed to its greatness. Pharoahe Monch and Prince Poetry should be household names on the level of Timbaland and Will Smith, but there are gatekeepers to our media outlets who will always decide that it's "beyond the masses to comprehend greatness" and thus will never give them the CHANCE to comprehend it. As such it's a minor miracle that Monch managed to chart after Organized Konfusion broke up with his solo album "Internal Affairs." Monch did not tone down his poetic complexity or lyrical ambidexterity one bit, in fact he may have kicked things UP a notch, but the infectiously catchy stomping beat of "Simon Says" gave the static standards of the masses a swift kick in the rear. Just when it seemed like Monch was going to take that speedboat straight to #1 with a bullet on Billboard, Godzilla reared his ugly head and stomped so hard that a tsunami capsized his career. That's not a metaphor - this really is Godzilla's fault. Toho Company Ltd. sued over the unlicensed use of Godzilla's theme music in "Simon Says." Try finding a new copy of "Internal Affairs" in stores today and you're shit out of luck, which means Monch is forever stuck at 200K units sold and will never go gold. You could hardly blame any artist in Monch's position for giving up on the rap game for good, leaving behind a career full of brilliant records strewn across a boulevard of broken dreams. Monch didn't leave the game he reinvented though, he just went further off the mainstream radar than he already was to begin with, leaving behind a once promising deal with Rawkus Records to find a new path to success. In 2007 Monch has finally emerged like a phoenix from the ashes on Street Records Corporation label, and this writer finds it both worthwhile and important to note the imprint is the creation of former Loud Records CEO Steve Rifkind. When other labels wouldn't take a chance on the likes of Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan and Tha Alkaholiks, Rifkind signed them to Loud and made them stars in both the underground AND the mainstream of music. If Rifkind can work that kind of magic on Pharoahe Monch's new album "Desire" he may achieve that long-awaited success he DOES desire - sales to match the critical acclaim he's always received. It all starts with the T. Jamerson produced lead single "Push," which both Monch and the label needed to hit on the same level "Simon Says" once did:
"Make you notice me, be like 'Damn - dude's awesome, totally' Now I'll admit the first time I heard the song it threw me off a bit, as Pharoahe Monch SINGS the first verse and he's accompanied throughout the track by the soul band Tower of Power. That's unfair really - it's as though I expected Pharoahe Monch to stay frozen in carbonite and emerge in 2007 as the same man he was in 1999. Monch's style has evolved and not in a negative way at all, he's just found more new outlets for his creativity and crooning is one of them. As a straight up lyrically complex MC he hasn't lost his touch at all, evidenced by tracks like the Grind Music laced conspiracy theory tribute to Public Enemy's "Welcome to the Terrordome":
"There's a hole in the apple, the Apple has been Rotten And if you want the eerie brain-shattering side of Pharoahe Monch that leaves you questioning both your sanity and reality itself, there's no better place to look than the co-produced T. Jamerson and Lee Stone opus entitled "What it Is":
"Rap's like Star Wars, only the stars die, it's no sequels Everything about this rap is trademark Pharoahe Monch to the core - staggered verbal flows that bend words in places you wouldn't expect, intense imagery through astoundingly vivid verbiage, and funny lines that catch you off guard like a Bas Rutten liver punch. For anyone concerned that Pharoahe would have fallen off during an 8 year layoff, "Desire" should easily answer those questions in spades, including on the title track itself:
"Comprehend the guidelines The Alchemist bangs this one out like it was handpicked for M.O.P., and it's no surprise that sample of Fame and Danze yelling "OH! OHH! OH! OHHHH!" are stitched up into the cut. After all these years Pharoahe's oratorical wit remains sharper than a steak knife and his flows stay harder than adamantium. Without the right production this could all be for naught but with so long of an absence Monch was not about to get caught out there. The album jams from start to finish, from the 99 Fingaz guitar-laced "Free" all the way through the nearly 10 minute long epic three part "Trilogy" by Mr. Porter at the end featuring Porter, Dwele and Tone in successive chapters. It's long overdue for Pharoahe to come back with a new album, but the delay has not hurt Pharoahe in any way. He was 20 years ahead of the rap game back in 1991, and even today he remains so far beyond what most of us can comprehend that in his world cars run on water and human beings have colonized the moon. We'll all catch up with him someday... as long as we have the desire to do so. Music Vibes: 8.5 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 9.5 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 9 of 10
Originally posted: June 19, 2007 |
![[Desire]](../coverart/monch_desire.jpg)
Pharoahe Monch :: Desire