After hearing Desire, I almost wonder why are rappers like Pharoahe so scarce these days. But fuck explaining why, let's talk about the album since it's this blog's only purpose...and holy shit, what a great album this is.
After an 8-year hibernation, you'd expect Monch to come hard and fast. Instead, he comes singing, as you'll notice on Body Baby and Push. It ain't a bad thing - it actually reminds me of what Outkast tried, and failed, to do with Idlewild - and it shows change in Pharoahe's style. Not that he forgot his roots, as When The Gun Draws shows.
Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. And P-Monch seems to be a firm believer of this. From the inspiring Push, to the 30's-like Body Bag to the downright amazing Trology, a 9-min tale of death and revenge of Pharoahe's dead wife. The production is flawless, perfectly capturing Monch's style and every of his concepts.
It's also nice to see that, even with many different concepts, the album has this timeless feel: you could say that this album was recorded in 1997 and still sound believable. Not much needs to be said. Lyrically, P-Monch is as hard and consistent as ever, but it's nice to see he isn't afraid of sailing his uncharted waters (a Public Enemy cover? nice). Production is near-perfect, and so is Pharoahe's flow and complexity, and he sounds hungry as ever (like ethiopians fasting, as he raps). With so many dissapointments I had this year (T.I., Fab, Canibus, which I admit I overrated) it feels nice to be reminded of why did I took this album-revieweing task, even if no one outside RGF reads this shit.
Well worth the Detox-long wait? In Playda's humble opinion, Yes. Too bad dude won't sell shit.
Rating: 9/10
Def look out for: Free, Desire, Push...shit, the whole album.
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