Best of 2014: Music – Album of the Year

Another year is in the books, and we here at Hush Comics couldn’t pass at the chance to rank our favorites of this year’s releases in all types of mediums. Some of the winners will surprise you; heck, some of the results surprised  us. The results are completely subjective, and therefore were chosen with infallible logic. We would love to hear your opinions on what we have chosen, or if you thought we missed anything. This should be a fun review before we gear up for 2015.

Click on the link to take you to the “Best of 2014” homepage.

Album of the Year

• Childish Gambino’s Stone Mountain/Kauai
• Kiesza’s Sound of a Woman
• Pharoahe Monch’s P.T.S.D.
• The Root’s …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin
• Sam Smith’s In the Lonely Hour

WINNER – Pharoahe Monch: P.T.S.D.

If you’ve been following Hush Comics’ “Diggin’ Through the Crates” articles, then there is no surprise when I tell you that we are BIG fans of this man. Forget for a moment that he frequents our site for his comic book wisdom, Pharoahe Monch is is the most powerful poet of this generation. His latest record, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is a compilation that touches on ground-level socio-political issues like drug addiction (“Broken Again” and gun violence “Damage,” but also exudes excellence through bravado on “Bad M.F.” There is not a rapper alive that can touch Pharoahe lyrically, and P.T.S.D. is just a friendly reminder. – Sherif

Second Place – Childish Gambino: STNMTN-Kauai

Yes everybody, Childish Gambino is still weird, but we love him for it. Being a fan of both Camp and because the internet, I was quite excited to hear this combo album-ish mixtape… thingy. I don’t know exactly what Gambino hopes or desires from his craft, but STNMTN-Kauai was a pleasant mix of his first two albums. Yes, it was filled with melodies and soothing sounds, but it was also filled with genuine rap lyrics. Is Gambino finding a happy medium, or will the experiments continue? STNMTN had me grooving and bumping my shoulders side to side, and Kauai made my heart full believing I was getting a small glimpse into Gambino’s thoughts and feelings. There was also a genius to the album’s marketing when he released STNMTN for free, and Kauai as a cheap EP on iTunes. No matter what side of the album I was listening to, one thing was clear, this music made me feel good, even the weird tracks with Jaden Smith. – Evan

Third Place – The Roots: …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin

Since joining Jimmy Fallon, the Legendary Roots Crew has been relatively quiet on the music scene. After an odd collaboration album with Elvis Costello in 2013, The Roots continued their departure from their signature Hip-Hop sound with a concept album called …And Then You Shoot Your Cousin. In this album, all bets are off, and it’s likely you won’t even recognize these as the same Roots that you grew up with. To me, that is the allure of &TYSYC. Clocking in less than 35 minutes in total length, the album is best treated much better as a continuous experience (much like Childish Gambino’s because the internet was last year) than a full-length Hip-Hop album. Even if The Roots’ play is limited to xylophone remixes of pop songs on the Tonight Show, And Then You Shoot Your Cousin is proof that they still reign supreme as artists. – Sherif

RUNNER UP – Sam Smith: In the Lonely Hour

Are you a sad, lonely man? Do you wish there was an artist and an album out there that spoke upon your problems? Are you ready to feel all the feelings? Of course you are! Well, in that case, Sam Smith’s new album, In the Lonely Hour, is perfect for you and your emotions. Lots of albums come out every year, some of them are decent, many of them suck, and very few of them are ones to remember. Sam Smith is one of those albums to remember. Throughout all 16 tracks, I never felt like skipping any of the song, not once. Probably one of the things I appreciated most about this album was how it felt real. It felt like the truth and Sam Smith genuinely was expressing his thoughts and feelings. A lot of new artist try to make a huge statement upon their arrival by creating a crazy club hit with lots of sounds and intense lyrics. However, his breakout hit “Stay with Me,” was not flashy in the least bit. It was not over the top or extravagant. It was simply Sam Smith. – Evan

RUNNER UP – Kiesza: Sound of A Woman

Mix 90’s House with Hip-Hop and you get this amazing album. The music video for her first single, “Hideaway,” has been out for a few months now, but her song is just now starting to hit the radio (at least on our state’s stations) . Listening to this album brought me back to all the good things I remember about the music of the 90’s and you can tell how heavily she was influenced by it; from En Vogue to Haddaway, she has a little something for everyone. I never actually realized I didn’t know the words to “What is Love” until I listened to her cover for it. My experience from it was solely form Night at the Roxbury and the morning announcements at our high school. The greatest song on this album is definitely “Piano” and everyone reading this should listen to that song if they were only going to pick one try out. – Robert

 

Next Category: Single of the Year

Diggin’ Through the Crates: Organized Konfusion “Bring It On”

Song: “Bring It On”

Artist: Organized Konfusion

Album: Stress: The Extinction Agenda (1994)

Lyric: “Rippin shit up at prime time, I’m Optimus Prime-time material/Imperial wizard of vocabularic havoc, I eat MC’s like cereal!”

 

Character Reference/Meaning:

DTCers, ROLL OUT! After a bit of a hiatus that I was on for grad school, we’re back at it again, ready to bring you all another ridiculously nerdy lyric that’ll probably make you want to transform into a rapper AND a nerd. Wait, that doesn’t make sense, because in Prince Poetry’s case, they are the same thing, AND I’VE BEEN SAYING IT SINCE DAY ONE!

Organized Konfusion, the dynamic rap duo out of Queens combines the awesome power of Prince Poetry, and DTC hall of famer, Pharoahe Monch. You would think that Pharoahe’s multiple appearances on DTC mean that he’s due for another spotlight, but today the honor goes to his counter part, Prince Poetry! These two individuals have ON (Original Nerd) status, seeing that they’ve been pushing bars since 1987. Need proof? Look no further than their 1994 hit, “Bring It On.”

With Transformers: Age of Extinction currently in theaters, it seems only right that we pay homage to two leaders of their respective packs – Prince Poetry and Optimus Prime. Shall we check the resumés? Prince Poetry a.k.a Prince Po has been rapping since before I was born, and is the founder of Nasty Habits Entertainment. He has four solo albums and EP’s apiece, in addition to the three Organized Konfusion alums. Impressive stats from an underground rapper. Now onto Optimus Prime. Prime is the leader of the Autobots, originates from the planet of Cybertron, sword enemy of the Decepticons, has saved planet Earth several times, while headlining countless cartoon episodes, movies and comic books. If you ask me, they’re pretty much one in the same.

On this DTC track, Prince Po is, without a doubt, letting you know this. Po is at the top of his game, and all the others dragging behind him, either need to figure out how to keep up, or learn how to step off. What he is saying is that if the rap game was planet Earth, and all the other rappers in the world were Autobots, he is pretty much Optimus Prime in comparison. After hearing his verse on this track, it’s kind of hard to refute that statement. Don’t believe me? Check the play on words. “I’m Optimus Prime-time material.” He is Optimus Prime and Prime Time, the nickname of Leon Sandcastle (That joke is funny). This lyrical ability demonstrates a great transformation in itself. Often times, young black men growing up in disadvantaged neighborhoods are seen as useless, and unable to contribute to anything productive in society. Knowing that one in three black men eventually end up in prison, it’s hard to keep the faith. However, Transformers is given the same treatment. To the untrained eye, that hunk of junk truck that’s always sitting in that lot across the street is completely useless. It’s rusted, run down, and it only belongs in a scrapyard somewhere. What if I told you that piece of junk was a Transformer? Does your perspective change? All it takes is one fluid move, and all of the sudden, that uselessness turns into something extraordinary. See, these young black kids growing up trying to be rappers, or even rappers today may seem like pieces of junk to the outside world, but to those who are paying attention, they are greatness. Hip-hop is more than just music to some, it is a way of life, it creates change inside of us that is unstoppable. So, that kid on the corner may seem like a piece of junk now, but who knows when he will transform into something powerful beyond measure.

Basically, Po is nothing short of hall of fame material. When he goes hard on tracks like this one, all the Decepticons suddenly have something to worry about. See, Optimus and hip-hop have many things in common. Probably one of the biggest factors the two share is the their influence on the youth of the 80s and 90s. Growing up in the hood, black community, or any community where hip-hop was a way of life, being an MC’s with dope lyrics was something to strive for. Having a lyrical ability was somethings people admired, it gave you status and an overall sense of purpose despite your upbringing. Growing up in the hood, you are given more opportunities to fail rather than succeed, and it’s much easier to stay up, than to try and climb your way out. Optimus could be viewed in the same light. Despite Optimus being the very last prime, his commitment to his cause and craft never wavered. To the audience, Optimus made it cool to be a good guy. Similar to Captain Planet and G.I. Joe, his courage and willingness to sacrifice everything for what he believed in was admirable. Hip-hop and Optimus are strong, righteous, and dedicated to what matters in life. For Optimus, that meant saving Earth through the way of the sword, maintaining what was honorable and good. Hip-hop does the same thing for planet Earth, only rather than the sword, hip-hop uses the mind and the spirit. Both fight evil, and both create a better way of life, both inspire hope.

Po dropped a transformers reference back in 1994, when hip-hop, nerds, rappers and transformers were all prime indicators of greatness. Knowing that transformers originated as a popular toy line only 10 years earlier, and then expanded into a cartoon television show, and then blew up to what we know it as today, it’s obvious the product hasn’t lost traction. When the toy line dropped, right off the bat, Optimus was the one to have. Little kids on the block were saving up what they have, folding bills in their socks, and begging their parents to go down to the toy store. If you were one of the lucky ones, and actually got that money, or that ride, if you left with anything other than Optimus Prime it just didn’t feel right. If you aren’t Optimus Prime, you might as well be a Decepticon.

FUN FACT: Optimus Prime was created by Denny O’Neil, legendary Batman writer who had a long career alongside artist Neal Adams.

 

 

Diggin’ Through the Crates: Jean Grae and Pharoahe Monch “Killin’ Em”

Song: “Killin Em”

Artist: Jean Grae and Pharoahe Monch

Album: Cookies or Comas (2011 mixtape), free download here

Lyric: “Generally-accused mutant who kills sentinels eventually/For days of future past intentionally”

Character Reference/Meaning:

We just can’t stay away from this legendary MC; who knew Pharoahe was such a nerd? This week’s “Diggin’ Through the Crates” celebrates two occasions. First, Pharoahe is performing live in Denver tonight at Cervantes. If you’re in town, do yourself a favor and go see one of the illest MCs ever to rock the crowd, fresh off his P.T.S.D. album. He’s one of the best live performers I’ve ever seen, and VERY reasonably priced considering the level of talent and interaction you get at the show.

The other reason that Pharoahe graces “DTC” for the third time (“Agent Orange” and “Rapid Eye Movement” have come before it), is because of his acute knowledge of the X-Men. With Days of Future Past released today, we saw it fitting to pick a relevant lyric, but while there were some a couple Kitty Pryde lyrics and even more Wolverine ones, Pharoahe’s verbal portrait of the totalitarian rule in the X-Men’s future takes the cake. You know what? Scratch that, it takes the whole bakery; any MC that has rapped about destroying sentinels, let along read Days of Future Past (you can check out our spoiler-free review of the graphic novel here if you’re interested) deserves some recognition.

This track from the Jean Grae (who has made her “DTC” appearance with “Jeannie Rules“) mixtape Cookies or Comas features to artists just going in about how dangerous their flows are, likening their love to their apart MCs to various horror movie characters and other serial killers. It’s a track with of pop culture references aplenty, and isn’t just limited to X-Men shout outs. I could go on forever trying to dissect all the Easter Eggs in “Killin’ Em,” but we’ll stick to the mutant issue at hand (get it?).

Days of Future Past, for those that haven’t owned a television or browsed the web in the past four months or so, is a story about the desolate future, where the X-Men’s failure to stop a political murder has ended up causing the election of a radically anti-mutant senator who implements giant mutant eradicators that (surprise!) ends up killin’ everybody in site – much like the MC Lyte-sampled loop on the track suggests. Sentinels are a vital part to the X-Men lore, and represent the cold, heartless authority designed specifically to take you out. If this sounds like a social commentary, that’s because it’s supposed to be!

Let’s start with Pharoahe’s displeasure for the boys in blue. It’s no secret that Troy Jamerson isn’t impressed with the police and the American justice system. A point that Pharoahe tries to drive home is that young black men are a target in this society. The extended video for “Clap (One Day)” off his W.A.R. album illustrates the public shaming of police officers who shoot unarmed civilians, which is more common than anybody feels comfortable talking about. It might not look like it on the news, but the sentinels from Days of Future Past isn’t too far off of life in urban neighborhoods. The evidence is stacked high and people continue to ignore the dangers, and probably will until it endangers them, as well.

When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first introduced sentinels in X-Men #14 almost fifty years ago, it was right in the heat of the Civil Rights Movement, when police were systematically trying to dismantle organized groups trying to fight for equality. Hell, the entire X-Men concept is based off the Civil Rights Movement and the right to equal treatment. Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto are often compared to the Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, respectively, of the mutant-filled world. There’s even the concept of “passing” as regular humans, something that some of the X-Men can choose to do, like light-skinned black people would do to avoid scrutiny.

Through the decades, X-Men became a sub-conscious platform for loving yourself and being comfortable with who you are, while still loving the people around you. Sure, there was Wolverine, who encapsulated all the rage and the desire to fight those who persecute, but there was the balance of Storm’s loving view towards all living things, and the logical thinking of Scott Summers (except when it came to Jean Grey; he was crazy about her). Without audiences even knowing it, the X-Men inspired the world to work as a diverse team to thwart injustice – in whatever form it may take.

Diggin’ Through the Crates: Pharoahe Monch “Rapid Eye Movement”

Song: “Rapid Eye Movement”

Artist: Pharoahe Monch

Album: P.T.S.D. (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) (2014)

Lyric: “Vocally twice as magnifying as ever hearing Chewbacca scream/Through a megaphone with the significance of Dr. King.”

Character Reference/Meaning:

Coming back for his second tour to “DTC” (Pharoahe was featured in our second ever “DTC” for “Agent Orange.”) Pharoahe Monch brings us back to his world with his fourth studio album P.T.S.D. Similar to his last solo album W.A.R. (We are Renegade), this album bring to light a lot of topics other artists aren’t even willing to touch. Topics that are not only relevant to modern society, but topics that are sensitive to the general population. These themes include mental health, the right to basic freedoms, gun violence, war, and other issues that can affect anybody no matter what age, gender, race, or tax bracket you associate yourself with. It is obvious when listening to this album he draws from the emotions he had to deal with in his own personal life such as depression. I can continue to talk about this album for hours on end, however “DTC” must focus in a different path (for a full review of P.T.S.D., check out our review here).

I think the best direction to start off with is this sick ass nerdy line coming off of Pharoahe’s song “Rapid Eye Movement.” What is the loudest thing you can think of? A car alarm? A jet flying overhead? Chewbacca screaming through a megaphone? Aww, close but no cigar; the correct correct answer is Pharoahe Monch when he is doing his thing on the microphone. Maybe loud isn’t the right word, but strong definitely is. What Pharoahe is bringing is the power and passion through his voice and his art and presenting it to you the best way he knows how. With such a powerful voice spreading such a passionate message, how could you possibly mistake it for something insignificant? Quite possibly one of the world’s greatest speakers, humanitarians, and civil rights activists, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had nothing but significance come out of his mouth. That is what Pharoahe is trying to exemplify with his music and his art. I can only imagine that he wants to a spread a message out to the public and bring out the darkest facts of life that seldom leave people comfortable, because progression never develops when there is no struggle. And if you don’t believe me, well then I find your lack of faith disturbing. Because ignorance is bliss but knowledge is power, and with a devotion like that, how could you not listen?

I’m just saying, you should pay as much attention to him as you would Chewbacca screaming the “I Have a Dream” speech into your ear with a megaphone. Sadly, Star Wars has been quite the opposite lately with their news. A few small things here and there, but nothing that makes that like nerd cortex in my brain throb. It has been released that filming for Episode VII will start next month in May. Even though many of the actors set to star in this film are relativity unknown, this could prove to be a good thing for the movie in the long run.  Besides that, other casting decisions are still just rumors. However, there are many other cool things that are happening surrounding Star Wars. Star Wars-themed march madness tournament “THIS IS MADNESS” ended not too long ago with Obi-Wan Kenobi snagging the championship with a fairly close victory over Darth Vader. In other delicious news M&Ms are re-releasing their Star Wars-themed candies which we all better take advantage of while we can get them. One last amazing thing Star Wars is doing is that they are helping fight illiteracy. On October 11th, Star Wars Reads Day III will be occurring. This is where Star Wars authors, artist, and costumed volunteers get involved in Star Wars Reads Day events happening all over the world. DOPE AND NERDY!! So if you have been feeling a hole in your heart due to lack of Star Wars news, I just tried to help out a little bit. And I know that isn’t nearly enough to fill the whole void, but that is where Pharoahe Monch comes in. Because like I’ve said time and time before, nerds and Hip-Hop heads are so close to being the same thing. So go out there and buy P.T.S.D. and help spread the word of the Monch.  “[Insert inspiration/awesome/favorite Star Wars quote here]” There is like a million of them, and I’m sure they will all fit.

Pharoahe Monch – P.T.S.D. Review

Pharoahe Monch – P.T.S.D. (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) Review

Album Specs

Tracks/Length: 16 tracks, 47:35

Notable Guest Appearances: Talib Kweli (“D.R.E.A.M.S.”), Black Thought (“Rapid Eye Movement”), Mr. Porter (“Losing My Mind”)

Album Genre/Tone: Socio-political Hip-Hop with a dire and aggressive tone

Lead Single: “Damage”

 

Review Scale:

The mythical A+: Pretty much the best eargasm you’ve ever experienced. This is the album you will be listening to when you are sixty and your grandchildren will be judging you for.

A: All you need to appreciate this album is two ears connected to a heart. Whether it’s the deeper message, the prolific beats or memorable lyrics, everybody should be listening to this record.

B: If you like the genre, then you will love this album. You might keep it on repeat for a month, but it will eventually find itself in the bowels of your shuffle list. Hardcore fans of the artist will disagree with this rating, but it can be considered more niche than universally acceptable.

C: There are a solid tracks, but it’s really only worth a few rotations as a complete package. Those not into the genre probably shouldn’t even bother. It’s the musical equivalent of a sad handjob.

D: This album fails, in most aspects, to make a good or lasting impression. However, some out there might find joy in it, if even for only a few songs. 

F: The only thing this album is good for is to make your ears bleed. You should steal every copy of this album and throw them all into a fire for a sacrifice ceremony meant to disband the demons living in the CD. And I say steal because it is obviously not worth the money. Or it would make a great gift for your enemies.

 

History Behind the Album

Those of you don’t recognize Pharoahe Monch might identify him as the artist behind the Godzilla theme-sampled “Simon Says” (yes, the one that was in that Charlie’s Angels movie, as my lovely wife pointed out). He’s been in the game for over two decades, first as one-half of Organized Konfusion and then to release four solo projects (Internal Affairs, Desire, W.A.R. and P.T.S.D.). The selling point of Pharoahe is that he’s highly entertaining; he uses complex lines and popular references to cover deep topics with the guise of humor – “Lay in the cut like Neosporin.” Not to mention, he’s also a huge comic book nerd, as you can tell from our “Diggin’ Through the Crates” articles. His entertaining style is super-ceded only by his stark and provocative lyrics.

P.T.S.D. is another concept album from the master of ceremony, Pharoahe Monch. Released three years after his first concept album, W.A.R. (We Are Renegades), it seemed only naturally to follow an album about revolution and social dissection with one centered on the fallout of socio-political failure. Pharoahe has always been one to speak his mind – be it about gun control, drug abuse or mental health – giving no fucks to whom he pisses off so long as his voice is heard and his point is made. However, on a bonus track of his 2007 Desire album (one  of my favorite of all time) called “Book of Judges,” Pharoahe revealed a ferocity in his music that I hadn’t heard before. The track is laced with direct attacks on America and it’s institutions – “Piss on the Constitution, then burn the Magna Carta.”

W.A.R. and P.T.S.D. both channel that rage, turning it into a theme. While Desire was the more complete album, W.A.R. fit into a crevice of Hip-Hop that none of his other solo ventures could. We start out with Pharoahe at some clinic called Recollection, where the promise that traumatic memories can, in essence, be extracted from somebody’s brain, “restoring healthy life.” It’s an interesting concept, but you know that it’s doomed from the start. The transcripts are set one year after the dead drop from Idris Elba’s character in W.A.R., and the final skit on the album reveals that Pharoahe (who has been in Recollection for ten years now, on some crazy Dollhouse stuff) is now sentenced to life in prison for violating the World Free-Thinking Agreement. There’s got to be some crazy connection here we don’t know about – yet.

 

What You’re in For

At forty-one years old – and twenty plus years into his career – Pharoahe Monch has found his identity. For those unfamiliar with his music as of recent, he treads somewhere in the middle of a champion of the people (a la Mos Def) and enemy of the state (like Immortal Technique). He’s found his niche, and he’s found his flow, because he glides effortlessly through the record. None of his tracks feel rushed or superfluous and they all fit within the neat little package that is P.T.S.D. That being said, tackling the subject of PTSD is no light matter. When Pharoahe’s agent came to him with the idea of the theme, he was both elated and afraid. In an interview with Respect magazine, Pharoahe clarified, “Damn this shits not gonna be easy. This is a real fuckin’ thing. You’re not gonna be able to high school essay bullshit your way through this. You’re gonna have to dig a little bit.”

Drawing from his own personal bout with depression, P.T.S.D. is not as upbeat as Desire, nor as angry as W.A.R. There’s a lot of introspection found in this album, and it might be a mouthful for those just looking to enjoy a casual Hip-Hop album. But that’s not why you buy a Pharoahe Monch album, is it? Pharoahe’s albums are the kind you blast unabashedly with your windows down. I wouldn’t be so foolish as to call it formulaic, but there is something about P.T.S.D. that feels familiar to W.A.R. (guess that’s the thing about PTSD, huh?). A bulk of the album follows the theme, but there is also the standard badassery (“Damage” and “Bad M.F.” to W.A.R.‘s “W.A.R.”), the guest feature throw-down (“Rapid Eye Movement” to W.A.R.‘s “Assassins”) and the soothing theme song of inspiration (“D.R.E.A.M.” to W.A.R.‘s “Haile Selassie Karate” and “Black-Hand Side”). Oh, and the final track on P.T.S.D. is just a remixed version of a track on W.A.R. I feel this is great because it truly gives the impression that this is a continuation of the journey we went on in W.A.R. They are essentially two sides of the same coin, and it translates to a cohesive package.

 

Songs On Repeat

“Damage”

Lyrics to Go: “F*** a stray bullet, I take aim when the gun draws/For ever lasting fame I will maim those who change the gun laws”

The premise of the leading single for P.T.S.D. is that Pharoahe Monch is the bullet. It completes a trifecta of abrasive tracks written on gun control (“Stray Bullets” from Organized Konfusion’s The Extinction Agenda and “When the Gun Draws” from Pharoahe’s Desire are the other two tracks) that began twenty years ago. The song was written before the Aurora Theater Shooting, but eerily reflects The Dark Knight Rises theater incident. Lee Stone’s production is as angry as the words in the track are. The track is capped off with a chorus borrowed from Hip-Hop classic “Mama Said Knock You Out” by LL Cool J. It’s a great twist of words to translate verbal slaying into gun violence.

 

“Rapid Eye Movement” featuring Black Thought

Lyrics to Go: “Monch is medicinal man made medical marijuana/With a phase plasma rifle like I’m searchin’ for Sarah Conner”

Straight out of a Black Dynamite action-scene, “Rapid Eye Movement” brings two of the best MCs in the game together in their first collaboration since “Guerilla Monsoon Rap” in 2002 (Talib Kweli’s Quality). Spittin’ venom over a track that is so reminiscent of a James Bond flick that it’ll have you thirsting for a martini by the time it’s over. There is a theme in this song, going along the lines that rapid eye movement (or REM) is the deepest level of sleep where dreams – and nightmares – most often occur, but really, this is just two rappers wrecking a track on some old espionage shit.

 

“D.R.E.A.M.” featuring Talib Kweli

Lyrics to Go: “Can’t take what I visualize from it, you pull the wool over my eyes, I swallowed the red pill/Even if I was broke as fuck I would lend you my last so you could holla at me still”

P.T.S.D. isn’t all melancholy and anger. What I would consider the last track on the album is one of the most uplifting songs I’ve heard from Pharoahe since Desire‘s “Shine,” this Talib Kweli-assisted track is about staying true to yourself and trying to fulfill your dreams. The title is a tribute to Wu-Tang Clan’s “C.R.E.A.M.,” but instead of Cash Rules Everything Around Me, the motto is “Determination Runs Every Aspect Mentally.” It’s a great way to close out the album, and although it kind of clashed with the tone of the rest of the album, it may be signifying that Pharoahe has found peace.

 

The Quick and Dirty

Grade: A-

Y’all know the name! This is, unwaveringly, a Pharoahe Monch album. That means tons of hard-hitting lyrics with as many great metaphors as socio-political commentary. It also means that anybody offended by real talk will find themselves quite turned off by his brutal honesty. The beats are just as sharp as the lyrics, and the guest features from two of Hip-Hop’s most socially conscious rappers (Black Thought and Talib Kweli) result in two of the album’s best tracks. The only drawback is that it feels just too damn short. Minus interludes, P.T.S.D. is only eleven songs that clock just over forty minutes long (actually pretty close to the same for W.A.R.), I was left a little disappointed that it was over so soon. That’s not to say that it lacked substance, but fans have been waiting on this record for years. P.T.S.D. is for true fans of lyricism, it weighs heavy and impacts listeners like a good Hip-Hop album should. If I didn’t know any better, this just screams “trilogy” to me – one where we get to see the end of P.T.S.D.‘s events unload into the establishment on whatever album is next. World Free-Thinking Agreement, my ass.

 

Diggin’ Through the Crates: Pharoahe Monch “Agent Orange”

Artist: Pharoahe Monch

Song: “Agent Orange”

Album: The Awakening (2003), a mixtape that preluded his second studio album (Desire). Free download here.

Before we begin, let’s just start out by introducing a lot of you to Pharoahe Monch, as not many I’ve spoken with have had the pleasure of listening to this hidden star of Hip-Hop. While not achieving a lot of commercial success, anything that comes out of Pharoahe’s mouth is lyrical gold. Starting out as half of the group Organized Konfusion, Pharoahe quickly gained the reputation of being a cerebral and entertaining emcee. Since his solo debut in 1999, Internal Affairs, Pharoahe has blown up the independent scene, tackling social and political topics with such clarity and hilarity.

Lyric: “It’s not a Game Boy, X-Box or PlayStation/It’s Resident Evil when every President’s a mason/ Robbin’ y’all fools like Dick Grayson”

Meaning/Character Reference:

Holy “Agent Orange,” Pharoahe Monch! That sure sounds scary and intense. In the mixtape leading to his second album, Desire, he reminds listeners that he is not only a wordsmith but is quite comic savvy, as well. “Agent Orange” is a song portraying the horrid war-time nature the United States government has been proved to display, referencing the US’ use of herbicidal warfare in the Vietnam War that left hundreds of thousands civilians starving and/or permanently physically deformed. When Pharoahe Monch starts listing off the game systems of our past, present, and future, he is basically throwing a brick through Congress windows with a note attached saying, “NOT TODAY, GOVERNMENT! DO I LOOK LIKE A BRAND NEW MORTAL KOMBAT VS. DC UNIVERSE GAME? BECAUSE I AM NOT TO BE PLAYED WITH” – sassy finger snapping ensues. Gloriously, Pharoahe Monch reaches out to the comic book world and pays homage to a superhero that only seek one thing – justice. Don’t lie; you said justice in your best Batman voice, didn’t you? What he is saying is that the system is robbin’ knowledge, power, and all that other good stuff from We, the People. For those of you out there who are wondering who Dick Grayson is, he is the only dude who can look badass in a red speedo, green gloves and a yellow cape, ROBIN! Boom, there is that AHA moment!  Pharoahe Monch is similar to Robin because they are both underrated and underestimated. If Dick Grayson can evolve from Robin into Nightwing, then maybe, just maybe, Pharoahe Monch can turn into Ra…sure, let’s go with that.

It’s a Dick… in a box

Fun Fact: In Eminem’s “Rap God,” which we featured on last week’s “Diggin’ Through the Crates” piece, actually references Pharoahe Monch, a heralded Hip-Hop artist in the underground community. As a lifetime fan of both, it’s refreshing to hear that even a pop legend like Eminem knows who the real artists are: “I know there was a time where once I/Was king of the underground, but I still rap like I’m on my Pharoahe Monch grind.”

That does it for this week guys! Check back next week for more nerd-infused Hip-Hop. Also, if you’re interested at all in learning more about the artist or the subject matter in our posts, don’t hesitate to ask. Pharoahe Monch’s fourth solo album, entitled P.T.S.D., is slated for a release January 2014. Be sure to check us out for a comprehensive review on that! Til next time, nerds…

Written by Evan Lowe and Sherif Elkhatib