Pharoahe Monch
Internal Affairs
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Pharoahe Monch
Internal Affairs
Rawkus, 1999
RiYL: Mos Def, Organized Konfusion, Common |
If Black Star's Talib Kweli and now solo superstar Mos Def became a fantastic four with Pharoahe Monch and Shabaam Sahdeeq, my dream would be realized, but Internal Affairs, Monch's solo debut after a break with the seminal Organized Konfusion, is close enough.
Though label-mate Mos Def's Black On Both Sides is the best rap record in years, Internal Affairs is a definite classic in its own right. Organized Konfusion and Black Star have quickly become hip-hop legends, but Def and Monch needed isolation to show their dazzling array of skills. While Def's lyrics, charisma and flow are tremendous, Black On Both Sides will be remembered more for how musically progressive and grand it was than for its oodles of good rhymes. Internal Affairs is more a collection of varying degrees of dope street beats than heavenly music, and Monch, though always considered one of rap's best MCs, is now undoubtedly its premier lyricist.
The intricacies of the sports-based "Official" are pin-point accurate, including, "Blaze a trail like Portland on a track that'll amaze ya' / omnipotent on the d(efense) like Clyde Frazier," as any Knicks fan will attest to the broadcaster's unnecessary use of big words. Monch is a lyrical gold mine, and the way he makes the most presumably jagged sentences gush is mesmerizing. Example, from "Hell": "Focus upon the fact that facts can be fallacated to form lies / my phonetics alone forces feeble MC's into the fence on the fly."
Monch shifts from the locker-room antics of "The Ass" ("Fuck it I shagged her / had her cummin' like Niagara Falls when I bagged her"), to "I know you will see the light, baby, once you understand what you mean to me darlin'," from the incredibly sweet "The Light," as the self-described "B-boy gentleman" shows a duality rarely seen in rap. Even at his most vicious, as on the metaphoric "Rape," he comes off confident but not arrogant (like Will Smith before his head outgrew his charm), when he claims, seemingly half-serious, half-smiling, all fellow MC's "ain't fuckin' it (rap) like... me."
Like the best point guards, Monch improves those around him, and M.O.P. and Busta Rhymes sound better on "No Mercy" and "The Next Shit," respectively, than they have in a while. Though Busta was rock solid on Mos Def's "Do It Now," this and his powerful performance on the "Simon Says" remix further prove the theory he's better as a supporting character as in his Leaders Of The New School days than the one-dimensional front man he's become. M.O.P., whose barking vocals consist of the most annoying yelling aside from Funkmaster Flex, finally sound as tough as they think they are. Ironically, they still come nowhere near Monch's verse.
Even the skills of Common and Kweli are heightened over a majestic, harp-heavy beat on "The Truth." The most interesting aspect of it, however, isn't Common's lush vocals or Kweli's increasingly poetic lyrics, but that Monch raps first. As on the "Simon Says" remix, which features an all-star cast including Lady Luck, Redman, Method Man, Sahdeeq and Busta, it's like a slam dunk contest when everyone's trying to leave the last(ing) impression. But like Vince Carter, Pharoahe Monch would rather go first and spark the frenzy, then flash that toothy grin while everyone else tries to catch up.
ROB BERNSTEN |