KRS-One - LIFE Review
Posted by Phil Watts, Jr on 07.28.2006
"After 19 years of rockin', how do you grade me?"
With the 20th anniversary of CRIMINAL MINDED around the corner, Kris Parker has an uphill battle ahead of him. Even with all the classic albums under his belt and all the innovations he helped build in Hip-Hop (one of the earliest attempts at mixing Reggae & Hip-Hop; the whole conscious/revolutionary Hip-Hop movement, etc.), he still has a lot to prove. For one thing, he is working in an atmosphere where the vast majority of today's music fans have no respect for history whatsoever. Everyone is so caught up in this asinine notion that "Hip-Hop is a YOUNG MAN'S SPORT" that they have no idea how much they're shortchanging themselves and Hip-Hop as a whole. For a man who's approaching 40 to continue to put out music in an atmosphere where "30=retirement", you know it's a struggle.
However, even if today's Hip-Hop fans had even the slightest inkling of respect for Hip-Hop's pioneers, Kris himself has given people little reason to actually check for him over the past 10 years or so. While the self-titled follow-up to his classis post-BDP solo album, RETURN OF THE BOOM BAP, had some great moments ("Rappers R N Danja", "MC's Act Like They Don't Know"), it also highlighted one of his first Jump-The-Couch moments: this was the album where he first started telling everyone "I AM HIP-HOP...and YOU CAN BE HIP-HOP, TOO!!" This really started rubbing people the wrong way and made many think that something must be wrong with Kris. Add to this the fact that all of his post-Jive Records material have left a whole lot to be desired (not to mention all the bullshit he's associated with, like that botched beef with Nelly, and fact that he threatened to jump across the table and beat some fool's ass in a PEACE conference), and it's no wonder many people, old fans and new, have written him off as a crazy, washed-up relic. Will KRS ever be able to return to the MC that he once was...and even more, regain the faith of the fans he lost over the years?
Now throughout all his recordings, even his post-Jive recordings, a few things are obvious: 1) the lyricism is still there and 2)his passion is still there...yeah, he may change his views at the drop of a hat, but when you hear him, you still get the since that he REALLY REALLY believes in what he's saying. However, the main strength of his pre-KOCH recordings is his impeccible choice in beats, whether it's from Scott La Rock & D-Nice or DJ Premier & Showbiz. That is the main thing that's deteriorated over the years, as he spent album after album either going to cheap, lesser-talented local-yokals, or trying to produce beats himself, which 9 times out of 10, ends up mediocre as hell. Do NOT get me started on how he took a bangin' Beatminers joint and RUINED it by making it his anti-Nelly diss record ("Ova Here").
For this album, KRS went to some local-yokals again...only this time, these 'local-yokals' actually have some potential! This album is produced in its entirety by an up & coming production team called The Resistance. I have to tip my hat to them. Unlike the no-names KRS went to since leaving Jive, these guys actually realize that they are working on a KRS One album and the beats need to be strong in order to compliment him. These guys try to experiment with lots of different beats; some come off, some don't. They go from using Premier's minimalist approach in "Fucked Up" (if you recall, I actually thought it WAS Premier), to using Timbo/Neptune-style beats on "The Way We Live", to using classic drum breaks in "Organ Break" and "Still Slippin'", to using violin-heavy samples on "Freedom" and "My Life". If they really want to make a name for themselves, they should take the drum breaks and violin tracks and concentrate on building with that because KRS sounds better over those beats than with the 'Timbo/Nuptune' imitation beats.
It's good to see KRS still trying different rhyme schemes, albiet with varied results. On "Bling Blung", he talks about the dangers of unbribled materialism while playing with the words "bling" and "blung", similar to how he played with the words "hold" and "hole" on "Hold". Sadly, it doesn't work very well, but then again, "Hold" didn't work either. On "Gimme Da Gun", KRS goes double-time trying to convince some knucklehead (played by Raphi) to get rid of the gun, but the erratic electric guitar nearly ruins the track (that plus Raphi sucks wind trying to keep up.) He also does the duoble-time routine in "Woke Up". "Organ Break" has KRS attempting to make Hip-Hop's equivilant to hiakus, which comes off pretty well.
For all of you who wish he'd chill on his constant talk of himself and his love for Hip-Hop, you'd be HAPPY to know that some of those 'himself and his love for Hip-Hop' songs count as some of the best songs on the album. Songs like "Freedom", "I'm On The Mic", "Organ Break", "I Am There" and the brilliant closer "My Life" all show that KRS shines the brightest with strong production to compliment him. In my opinion, these songs are just as good as his Jive material, especially the last two. In fact, these songs alone make this album worth the purchase, especially if you skipped out on his KOCH material. Yeah, it can get tiresome to a lot of people, but if he continues to use angles like THIS--"Hip-Hop/it's home can never be a station/sharing its space with R&B?/STOP FAKIN'!/you see how much money they be makin' off of you and I/just because Hip-Hop won't UNIFY?"--he can continue to do it, as far as I'm concerned. Just as long as he stays away from that "I AM HIP-HOP" bullshit (which he's still on, sadly).
He does delve into other subjects, though. Aside from the anti-materialist "Bling Blung", and aforementioned "Gimme Da Gun", we have "Mr. Percy" which deals with a subject that he knows far too well--HOMELESSNESS (he was sleeping on the streets before he got his first deal, by the way). This songs about how a lot of people are on the brink of losing their jobs and their homes. If only the song wasn't marred by his terribly sung hook. Unless your name is Biz Markie, DON'T DO IT!! "Fucked Up" deals with what happens to people who do stupid shit without thinking. The "Life Interlude" attempts to make a connection between society and nature.
Aside from some of the other shortcomings I've already mentioned, this album has a few guest appearances from newcomers Triune, Raphi, Propaganda, and Ishues. Sadly, they don't bring much to the table, nor do they compliment KRS very well. KRS could've done better if he just stayed solo the whole album.
The Good ("FRESH...for 2006, you SUCKAAAAAAAZ!!"): "Freedom", "I'm On The Mic", "Organ Break", "Fucked Up", "I Am There", "My Life"
The Bad ("See how it sounds...A little UNRATIONAL"): "Bling Blung", "The Way We Live", "I Ain't Leavin'", "Mr. Percy", "Gimme Da Gun"
The 411: All things considered, this is KRS-One's strongest album since he left Jive. After years of weak albums and lost credibility, KRS begins the road to recovery, which is good considering the fact that he's approaching such a milestone. Now, all KRS has to do is to take the best aspects from this album and build on that. Now if DJ Marley Marl brings his A-Game for their upcoming colab album, the 20th Anniversary can definitely see a resurgance to KRS One's career.
As long as it helps us forget SPIRITUAL MINDED, it's fine by me.
