Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music – Williams Street (2012)
Rap music became an art form because it carried a pure message directly from the streets, where people were being mistreated and had no way out of the hellish existence they suffered. For me, the beginning of rap music was an awakening of music confronting real life issues with a mix of intelligence and fury. Sadly, there aren’t many rap records anymore made with the urgency of the original concept.
No, instead the worlds of pop and hip-hop mostly have records about being sexy or how much money they have. This spectacularly boring concept of self-aggrandizement and objectifying of women are far more popular than I can stomach. I miss real rap music. I miss LL Cool J talking about how Fast Peg ended up in a dumpster because of her coke habit, or Ice Cube explaining what a good day is like in Compton. Those are songs from the streets that project pictures and send a message. Save for a handful of albums in the last decade, rap music was essentially dead as we knew and loved it.
Luckily, there is a real rap music long play recording out this year that brings the true ideology of rap back into the forefront. Killer Mike is on the attack and he is bringing the message with some wonderful backing tracks supplied by El-P who produced all the music on this record.
The music is really good. There are wonderful long background chords here stretching out far and wide, leaving Killer Mike plenty of room to fire off his lyrics anyway he wants. The beats never get redundant and each track has a unique feel that really sets it apart from an old school rap album.
Beyond the music, Killer Mike is here to inform you what life is like nowadays in the inner city and takes the time to reflect back and analyze why the world he emanates from is so horrible. Tracks like “Reagan” and “Don’t Die” and “Anywhere But Here” are desperately honest and urgent songs that will emotionally resonate with you while you are moving to the beat. These are must listen tracks where Killer Mike tells you how it is as he varies his cadence and vocabulary while shuffling between sadness, anger and apathy.
Most tracks on R.A.P. Music (R.A.P. is an acronym for Rebellious African People) are strong. Sometimes Killer Mike reaches for more than is needed such as when he lines up a corny choir for “Ghetto Gospel”. Still, I can easily forgive his mistakes of ambition as opposed to hearing another lazy ass Eminem track. Thanks to Killer Mike and his producer El-P, rap music has returned with challenging, provocative messages that are real.
Rating: 8 of 10
The Basement 