I've never really had a religious experience, in a religious place.Closest I've ever come to seeing or feeling God is listening to rap music. Rap music is my religion. Amen.
These days, there are rarely words that resonate with me perfectly. To me, Michael Render's words at the beginning of the title track is the truest shit I ever heard. To some, it may be hard to understand, especially if you are not a big fan of rap. Listening to rap growing up provided sympathy, compassion, understanding, comfort, relaxation, community - well, pretty much everything that religion provides for others. When you have preachers, parents, or both telling you what you should do as if they have never done it, rap always spoke to me as if it understood how I felt and spoke to me with honesty. Rap did not judge me. In fact, it empowered me to do the scariest thing to do these days - be myself. At the end of the day, any music genre can be this to others, and it probably is. Unfortunately, of all music genres, rap music always receives harsh criticism from in the media and politics, many of whom simply criticize out of their own ignorance, whether intentional or not, of hip hop culture. Now, there is definitely some rap out there that lacks some integrity and creativity, but it is always the music that has integrity that lasts the test of time. With his sixth album entitled R.A.P. Music (Rebellious African People Music), Michael Render aka Killer Mike has delivered such an album.
First, let me apologize again for being mad, mad late on this review. In fact, I deserve to poke my eyes out with toothpicks. When I was writing the review for his last album, Killer Mike had already released this album over 6 months beforehand. This album should not have slipped under my radar but it did. Once again, however, it's better late than never. What changed between Pl3dge and R.A.P. Music for Killer Mike? The biggest change is that Killer Mike elected to have underground hero and producer El-P handle all the beats for this album. I was definitely a little put off by that, especially with how I felt Pl3dge was Mike's most complete album production-wise with more than one producer behind the boards. In addition, I was not sure whether El-P's offbeat style would match with Mike's streetwise, aggressive rhetoric. However, I remember reading about the same skepticism when Ice Cube enlisted the Bomb Squad to produce his first solo album after leaving N.W.A. It ended up working so well that people were still clamoring for them to collaborate again, and with R.A.P. Music, it is no different.
Killer Mike waste no time with the opening track "Big Beast" featuring Bun B, T.I. and Trouble, opening the album with a fury and intensity that we have not heard since Amerikkka Most Wanted. Man, I wish other artists had the guts to kick off an album like this:
Hardcore G shit, homie I don't play around
Ain't shit sweet 'bout the Peach, this Atlanta, clown
Home of the dealers and the strippers in the clubs doe
Catch you comin out that Magic City with a snub, hoe
Lurkin in the club, o' tourists muh'fuckers
Welcome to Atlanta - up the jewelry, muh'fucker!
These monkey niggaz lookin for some Luda and Jermaine
And all that nigga found was a Ruger and some pain
...
I know some dumb country niggaz but them niggaz ain't weak
Know they dress and look the part but them niggaz ain't G
I don't make dance music, this is R.A.P.
Opposite, of that sucka shit they play on TV
Both Bun B and especially T.I. provide stellar verses, and Trouble nails the chorus. What is most surprising is El-P's production. The beat is uptempo, hits hard, and perfectly compliments Mike as he puts a lyrical beatdown on the listener. Any doubt on the Killer Mike/El-P chemistry is now gone, even if it might fall short at some point. Fortunately, it never does. The following track "Untitled" featuring Scar has El-P slowing things down with a deep bass pattern alternating between two octaves and congas drumming in the background. The beat itself is hypnotizing, but Mike makes sure his drops something to chew on as well.
