God, another horribly harsh first round matchup. I adore both (I'm sitting at my computer desk which also houses my Bizarre Ride 7" singles boxset, just a few feet away from my record shelf where you can find Internal Affairs), and both should definitely be going further than the first round. I think I described Pharoahe Monch somewhere as sounding like a cross between Chuck D and Charlie Parker, all booming, authoritative voice, but with the lightness of touch and unpredictability of a great Bird solo, and that is what I hear particularly on this record. Over an array of stellar head-nodders, Monch finds the perfect balance between his underground side and his accessible side, touching on a variety of topics with his trademark angular flow and ridiculous collection of internal rhymes (Eminem has constantly pointed to Monch, Masta Ace and Redman throughout his career as his biggest influences, and of those three Monch is definitely the precursor in terms of Em's technicality - i.e. the "rappity-rapping" Eminem that can fit countless syllables into a line without it sounding unnatural (*cough* Talib *cough*)). And Bizarre Ride is just one of the most fun, carefree hip-hop records ever, those jazzy J-Swift beats acting as the perfect base from which The Pharcyde can launch, tossing rhymes between themselves as you would a frisbee on the beach with friends.
It's difficult to split the two, but I think Internal Affairs is Monch's strongest record, whereas I prefer Labcab to Bizarre Ride, so Monch gets my vote here. _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
I think Internal Affairs is a very under appreciated hip-hop record. Not that it's unknown, but it just deserves more appraise than it gets, and I'm glad it's in this tournament. That Simon Says remix is stellar. I prefer Desire to be honest, but both are fantastic.
But Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde is Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde. It encompasses the sound of west coast jazz rap perfectly. It doesn't sound dated whatsoever either, the production on it was just on another level at that time. The storytelling is also on par with Ghostface and Nas in my opinion, excellent imagery.
I think Internal Affairs is a very under appreciated hip-hop record. Not that it's unknown, but it just deserves more appraise than it gets, and I'm glad it's in this tournament. That Simon Says remix is stellar. I prefer Desire to be honest, but both are fantastic.
Interesting you say this, because Internal Affairs was actually pulled from stores because of legal issues (to do with the clearance - or, rather, the non-clearance - of the Godzilla sample in 'Simon Says'). The album's never been reprinted, and likely never will be in its original form (especially now since Rawkus have sadly disappeared). But yeah, the whole incident really fucked Monch's career up - Internal Affairs was supposed to be his mainstream breakthrough after years of excellent records and critical acclaim with Organized Konfusion, but nobody could buy a copy. He left Rawkus, and it took another eight years to get the follow-up, the awesome Desire (not very far behind Internal Affairs in terms of quality, but it just doesn't bump as hard from beginning to end, and it isn't quite the same all-out lyrical assault - both are completely essential though, and along with a couple Organized Konfusion albums they make up a pretty flawless portfolio (ignoring, of course, everything since Desire)). _________________ 2021 in full effect. Come drop me some recs. Y'all know what I like.
Just discovered Internal Affairs, I'm totally blown up. Excellent stuff, probable slightly better than Bizarre Ride, not sure though because I love that one a lot. Anyway, on the strength of the new discovery, voting Monch.
Shit. I thought for sure Bizarre Ride would be a record I'd be voting for nearly straight through the tourney, and yet here we are in round 1 and my first listen to Internal Affairs has me torn. Gonna need to think this one over.
If the rest of the round 1 matchups are anywhere near as tough as 3 of the 4 so far, this is gonna be painful, but one hell of a tournament _________________ http://jonnyleather.com
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
WindowAbove
Skinny
Hayden
eyezayzay
Norman Bates
meccalecca
