Moment Of Truth (studio album) by Gang Starr

Strong, hard-hitting, socially conscious album. The first half is much stronger than the second half. Too much filler in the second half is the only thing that keeps it from being a perfect Hip Hop record. 9.5/10!

Gang Starr - Moment of Truth came out at a critical point in their career. On the one hand, they were on a hot streak, as the three albums that preceeded this achieved massive acclaim - and deservedly so. The production brings a twist to their typical sound, it combines hard hitting with a melodic sense. On the other hand, this was their first album in four years. The rapping is at the very least as good as in their previous attempts, no signs of declining at all. Plus, there are many great guests with Inspectah Deck easily being my favorite, head and shoulders above everyone else("Stand like Colossus, regardless to whom or what Numerous attempts on my life, so who to trust? Who but us to supply ya with the fire? The burnin' truth, 150 Absolut proof On the mic like Moses spoke in golden scribe Survivor of the oldest tribe whose soldiers died"). The lyrics are once again of their trademark high quality, covering a wide variety of themes ("They innocent, they know not what they face While politicians save face genius minds lay to waste If I wasn't kickin rhymes I'd be kickin down doors Creatin social change and defendin the poor" or "Yo, it doesn't make sense, for you to compete against This New York vibe that gets your whole body tense Calm down, listen to a brother who knows Cause the rappers out here come up with mad different types of flows" or "To my man G.O.V., I remember how you used to be You were the illest man alive now I'm reading your eulogy") . If there is one complaint to be made, it has to be the running time. You can really tell it's almost 80 minutes long, it struggles to justify its length.

From Larcx13 10/29/2020 10:25

Gang Starr's best album in my opinion. It may be a bit long but I find every track to be worth listening too. Great production, good subject matter. One of the greatest release in Hip Hop.

Might be one of the best production on an hip hop album ever alongside illmatic, college dropout and MBDTF. The self-titled track is one of my top 10 hip hop song of all time and it's a must listen for every hip hop fan. Top 10 hip hop album of all time, IMO. Rip Guru

This is such a great album and it's so underrated. There's not a bad track on it and the lyrics and production are amazing. The only bad thing about it is that it's a little too long.
Fav Tracks: Next Time, Moment of Truth, The Rep Grows Bigga, Above the Clouds

From Graeme2 03/16/2017 09:45

I had step in the arena and always thought they were ok, great production but with some monotone bloke over the top of it. The next thing I got was the full clip retrospective and I started to pay more attention. Its only been he last couple of years when I've picked up all the studio albums (bar the 1st) that I've fully appreciated how good they were, and guru too. Thing is he's actually saying something. I don't get the putting down of any conscious hip hop of saying its too preachy (seen this a few times) just because it's not all typical street tales. I feel guru is being sincere and partly that's why he's great, with loads of charisma. Not all people making hip hop are gangsters. Not all who pretend they are, are actually gangsters but it's good to sell records. Is it idealised to speak what you feel is the truth just because it doesn't fit with the guns pimps hustler drugs stereotype? Would it be better to roll with that style as that was the big seller type of record late 90s, better for sales probably and even Nas switched it a bit on his 2nd album to fit in more. Mr Smalls was telling his stories based on his life, it wasn't fake, same as Illmatic. You cant get more honest than guru speaking about the mistakes he made leading to his arrest. Got to end the hip hop stereotypes. Keeping it "real" should mean exactly that, which is what makes this, guru and gang Starr classic.

From babyBlueSedan 03/11/2016 00:11

This is a really great hip hop album. If you love classic 90s hip hop, you'll definitely dig this. It's way too long (almost 80 minutes), but that's pretty common in 90s hip hop.

However, to me it's a little boring for a few reasons:
1. the length
2. Guru's flow is nothing outstanding. He's a great wordsmith and I love his use of internal rhymes, but as an MC he doesn't have a lot of presence or anything to elevate him above other MCs. He's talented, but doesn't have a lot of charisma.
3. Not a fan of DJ Premier's beats. They're really smooth but not groundbreaking to me.
4. The subject matter is commendable - I like the conscious/positive attitude this album has. But it feels so preachy, and some of the lyrics are a little eye-rolly. I guess I'm just too much of a pessimist who prefers the brutal honest of Biggie or Nas to the idealized version of hip hop presented here.

Summary: if you like laid back, conscious hip hop you'll love this album (unless you're me).

From alexgagne 02/28/2016 21:39

This would be just another review of Gang Starr by a white guy...

Favorite tracks: Work, JFK 2 LAX, Moment Of Truth, The Rep Grows Bigga (85)
Less favorite tracks: Itz a Set Up, New York Strait Talk, The Mall, In Memory Of... (75)