2008 Woodie Awards
Pharoahe Monch's latest is all of the hip-hop you crave, 1/3 the clichés
Tim Elliott
Issue date: 7/22/07 Section: The Arts
In his own words, native New Yorker Pharoahe Monch wants to "spit at your favorite rapper, take his title." Throughout Desire, his much delayed sophomore album (SRC-Universal Motown, June 26), Monch makes a persuasive case that he's more than capable of fulfilling his stated goal.
Monch has been around hip-hop since his debut in 1990 as a member of the duo Organized Konfusion. He launched his solo career in '99 with Internal Affairs on indie stalwart Rawkus Records. The messy situation following the collapse of Rawkus accounts for the lengthy gap between releases.
To make up for lost time, Monch adopts an MC-centered approach to making records, similar to the formula Jay-Z used on The Blueprint. Taking Jigga's approach to an extreme, Monch is the only rapper featured on the entire disc. Fortunately for the listeners, Monch is one of the few rappers of any stripe capable of carrying a disc's worth of material without becoming trite, repetitive or clichéd. Relying on his catchy, pun-laced, incisive lyrics and devastating flow, Monch demonstrates an approach to hip-hop that prizes self-expression above all else.
True to the self-empowerment philosophy he espouses, Monch isn't concerned about alienating anyone. While most hip-hop fans would probably consider him an underground or indie rapper due to his thoughtful lyrics and previous affiliations (Organized Konfusion, J-Dilla, Mos Def and other indie rap trailblazers), Monch has also collaborated with mainstream rappers like Redman and Busta Rhymes.
Lyrically, Monch forgoes displays of violent ignorance common to rappers you've actually heard of (50 Cent anyone?) while avoiding the preachy pitfalls that plague many underground rappers (i.e. beyond saying what is or isn't real hip-hop, they have little else to discuss). Instead, Monch writes rap songs with substance, tackling a variety of subjects using his inventive combination of humor, trash-talking and paranoia tinged social awareness.
Monch has been around hip-hop since his debut in 1990 as a member of the duo Organized Konfusion. He launched his solo career in '99 with Internal Affairs on indie stalwart Rawkus Records. The messy situation following the collapse of Rawkus accounts for the lengthy gap between releases.
To make up for lost time, Monch adopts an MC-centered approach to making records, similar to the formula Jay-Z used on The Blueprint. Taking Jigga's approach to an extreme, Monch is the only rapper featured on the entire disc. Fortunately for the listeners, Monch is one of the few rappers of any stripe capable of carrying a disc's worth of material without becoming trite, repetitive or clichéd. Relying on his catchy, pun-laced, incisive lyrics and devastating flow, Monch demonstrates an approach to hip-hop that prizes self-expression above all else.
True to the self-empowerment philosophy he espouses, Monch isn't concerned about alienating anyone. While most hip-hop fans would probably consider him an underground or indie rapper due to his thoughtful lyrics and previous affiliations (Organized Konfusion, J-Dilla, Mos Def and other indie rap trailblazers), Monch has also collaborated with mainstream rappers like Redman and Busta Rhymes.
Lyrically, Monch forgoes displays of violent ignorance common to rappers you've actually heard of (50 Cent anyone?) while avoiding the preachy pitfalls that plague many underground rappers (i.e. beyond saying what is or isn't real hip-hop, they have little else to discuss). Instead, Monch writes rap songs with substance, tackling a variety of subjects using his inventive combination of humor, trash-talking and paranoia tinged social awareness.
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