![]() Songs like the album’s horn-driven “Intro” as well as the dark and foreboding “Behind Closed Doors” feel at peace with Monch’s earlier material. Monch doesn’t attempt to dumb down his style, still delivering his verbal gymnastics with amazing verbal dexterity and putting together interesting concepts. They seemed ready to make Monch the label’s other star.Īnd yet Internal Affairs still feels like an album by one half of Organized Konfusion. Just the week before, the label had released Mos Def’s solo debut Black On Black Sides, which would end up as their most successful album. Rawkus seemed to be committed to dumping money into the album’s budget with these guests, fueled at least partly by a play for mainstream attention around this time. Busta Rhymes makes two appearances, joined by Redman and Method Man at one point, all in their prime. Some of these artists had prior affiliation to Monch, others are beloved underground mainstays, and others are pretty high profile. Internal Affairs also features a lot of guest appearances, as Monch enlists a number of emcees to lend their talents to the album. Though Monch and his cohort Lee Stone handle a bunch of the beats, he brought in outside producers like DJ Scratch, Diamond D, and a young Alchemist to work their own studio magic. Many of the songs have call and response-based hooks, encouraging audience participation. Monch still delivers a vintage performance on the microphone, but overall he was trying something different on this album, and again, that wasn’t a bad thing. I was used to the guy who incomprehensibly split syllables over dark, chaotic, deeply non-commercial tracks. I was used to the Organized Konfusion-version of Monch. However, Internal Affairs was not what I‘d first anticipated, and that wasn’t a bad thing. And with the release of Internal Affairs 20 years ago, it seemed like a no-brainer that this was going to be everything that I’d envisioned In the ongoing battle between the mainstream and the underground, Rawkus was leading the charge for backpackers like myself. They’d also put out a slew of brilliant 12-inches by artists like Reflection Eternal, Black Attack, L-Fudge, and Sir Menelik. They’d released/distributed albums by Company Flow and Black Star, the Soundbombing mixtapes, and the Lyricist Lounge compilation. Rawkus was carving out its niche as one of the strongest and most vital labels for underground and independent hip-hop. It’s conceivable that during Monch’s amazing run as a member of Organized Konfusion from 1991 to 1997, he was one of the best rappers gracing a microphone.Īnd then when Monch announced that he had signed to Rawkus Records, it seemed like a perfect match. ![]() But on those group albums, it seemed like there was a beast within Monch, struggling to free himself, ready to hold down an album on his own. ![]() Yes, all three of the albums that he recorded as a member of Organized Konfusion are great: Albumism has paid tribute to all three of these releases I even wrote one of them. Ahead of this, we've been granted permission to give away the adventurous, acoustic driven hip hop of 'No Man's Land' – curiously introspective, it displays the playfully groundbreaking approach of Aspects.Happy 20th Anniversary to Pharoahe Monch’s debut solo album Internal Affairs, originally released October 19, 1999.Ī solo album by Troy “Pharoahe Monch” Jamerson had long been a dream of mine. Traditionally, the concept of the ‘Left-Hand Path’ is associated with malicious black magic a rejection of societal convention and the status quo.Ĭonceived as an ode to the other, the album is ‘a window to the wilds of the outdoors from the crushing claustrophobia of the rat race.’ Blending lyrics that touch on hilarity, sadness, inanity and arch perception, Aspects provide a relieving alternative to conventional, safe music.Īspects are set to play Clash night East NotEast at the Shacklewell Arms in London on April 6th. Over their trademark wacky bounce, ‘Trouble in Town’ has a devilishly haunted feel. The emcees lend their skittish vocals yet again on opener ‘No Man’s Land’ – a clunking stomper that switches feverishly between keys. Highlights include Black Acre’s Akira Kiteshi-produced ‘Scumerset’, which bounds in with a Pharoahe Monch ‘Simon Says’ heaviness underfoot. The foursome distill their creativity, as ever, into this full-length, where hits with leftfield sensibilities come in thick and fast. ![]()
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