Usually I believe you need 4 listens of a rap album before you can really decide on whether you like it or not. 3 listens for a very basic album and maybe 5 for something deeper and more complex, but for this album I needed 6 listens before I could fully comprehend whether I liked it or not and I am still not sure I have caught everything there is to catch; That is how complex Monch is when it comes to lyrics. He is about 12 years deep in the rap game, but this is only his second solo album because he has been caught in label limbo for so many years, so is Monch still relevant? If this album is any indication, yes, very much so!
Free- Right off the bat we know what we are in store for as the beat hits hard and we hear the word "free" repeated over and over again. Monch is ready for war, airing out what he thinks about the label system in his first line on the song which is "The A&R is the house nigga and the label the plantation..." This song is pure heat and Monch is on his A game for the entire 3 and a half minutes. WOW! 5/5
Desire- The beat come son and sound like a 70's funk throwback and the guy singing on the hook emphasises that with a deep guttural sounding voice. Monch is still on fire here "Salve to a label but I own my masters." Not the first time this metaphor has been used by a rapper, but Monch attacks it so hard that I believe him fully. He tears through this track with metaphor after metaphor and simile after simile. "My mic is the gavel when I hold court" "Even if you were ashes you couldn't burn." Then he ends each verse with a 3 choppy word flow, emphasizing the word "desire." 5/5
Push- This song is a bit old and is probably a hold over from a leaked album. The horns on the beat are on the forefront because it features and samples Tower of Power. It is kind of a break from your usual 16/chorus/16/chorus/16/chorus format and it works very well for him. He kind of talks through a short first verse and doesn't really get going until towards the end but when he gets going he lets off this little political blast "in this era of G.W. Bush We must load mental ammunition and bust." The song is about pushing yourself forward and not backing down and another amazing track. 5/5
Welcome to the terrordome- In this updating of the classic anti- establishment Public Enemy track Monch is incredible. The first verses are fairly identical and then he just lets loose. The beat is crazy good and it samples the original Public Enemy track. Monch brings the same Chuck D. Energy and just drops knowledge on anyone willing to listen. 5/5
What it is- This is a dark sounding track, with a haunting beat and Monch compliments it very well as he references star wars, The Matrix and some other movies but with horror movie like style. The punchlines are hardcore and Monch is an angry man and this is the first track where he really switches his delivery and uses the cuts in the beat for effect to a perfect melding of voice and scratch. 4.5/5
When the gun draws- Monch takes the voice of a bullet in this song. Not the first time Monch has talked about guns and bullets and how bad they all are for people. The hook is a bit annoying for me, but the message of the song is loud and clear. This song is very much about how people with guns are the real problem though. The bullet makes its case that it is not his fault someone pulled the trigger. There is a political message here as well because he wouldn't be Monch without it. The beat wouldn't sound of place on a Dr. Dre CD because it has Dre like qualities which makes sense since the producer of it works for and with Dre. 4.5/5
Let-s go- This was the first single when the album was first going to be released a while back so it is not new but that doesn't mean it isn't awesome because it is. It is an uptempo track and Monch is all over it. His verses are crazy and again his references always work as he goes back to his comic book roots with "and you can't see me like Matt Murdoch." I have been listening to this song for over a year probably and I still catch new little things that make it even better each time. I just now caught the Terminator reference this last listen. 5/5
Body Baby- This is the lead single now as the album actually get released. The beat is a throwback beat again. Monch sings on the hook which doesn't totally work for me and if you see the video, it sucks, but his delivery right off the bat is crazy and his lyrical wordplay is top notch here. The hand claps towards the end invoke memories of bad Outkast songs but it doesn't derail the track for me because of his lyrical content. Monch gets a 5/5 but the overall feel of the song gets a 3.5/5
Bar tap- This is the first song I don't really like on the album, but I respect his originality on a familiar topic. He mixes his rapping and singing and he is talking to a girl and eventually I think has sex with her on the track. He is somewhat humorous here as he kind of makes fun of that Nelly "hurr" and "thurr" lingo, but overall it is still a very weak track for me. I liked the beat though. 3/5
Hold on- Pharoahe Monch the feminist here. It is an incredibly touching, deep track. He slows down his crazy flow and his voice is a lot softer here. Erykah Badu is the perfect voice for the hook here and the song is really a great song about the beauty of women and the senselessness of violence towards women. Monch is trying to tell the women of the world to keep fighting, to keep holding on. I really love this track a lot. 5/5
So Good- It is a sex track, but like a deep love making sex track. Monch wants his girl to give everything of hers to him. Her stress and her fears. The track wouldn't sound out of place in some spoken word venue as it is all metaphorical and allusion heavy. Monch is definitely getting his love on here. Nothing spectacular, but not a bad track. 3/5
Trilogy- In this 9 minute epic track perfectly produced by Mr. Porter and the hook perfectly sung by him as well, Monch has killed his wife and the man she was sleeping with. The story is told semi in reverse, or more like in a non linear fashion. The beat changes with all 3 acts, but the story remains the same and Mr. Porter handles the change effortlessly. Monch manages to keep his energy going even with the change in beats and the story remains interesting and his character always engrossing, especially in the second act where he sees who the guy is who was sleeping with his wife. This is a very adventurous track and is the perfect way to close out an incredible album. 5/5
This is by far the best thing i have heard all year and most of it has to be heard to truly understood and enjoyed. There are so many in and out rhymes, crazy metaphors and killer punchlines that Monch was definitely thinking when he wrote this album and I am glad to see someone still out there ripping it up not as concerned with that one massive hit.
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