Pharoahe Monch – Internal Affairs

At the time of its release, Internal Affairs leaned too much towards (gasp!) club tastes for the indie hip-hop heads (Rawkus Records' bread and butter) inflicted with the humorless purism that was running rampant in the underground. Could our personal favorite MC Pharoahe Monch really be making mindless club jams like "Simon Says" and "Right Here"? How dare he! But after becoming older, wiser, and haggard by every self-conscious "true-school" snoozefest or god-awful Anticon platter of pseudo-experimentalism being pressed in the underground, Internal Affairs has held up MUCH better than every little snobby shit like me made it out to be at the time. It's a shame the arrogant "indie or die" mentality was mucking the atmosphere of the hip-hop underground since the cold shoulder from fickle backpackers probably did as much damage to the reception of this album as did Rawkus' regrettable spiral into irrelevance (Industry Rule #4080 at work, kids!). Regardless of whether or not the production was a little more club-ready (for the time anyway; nowadays, this record sounds positively heavy and hard compared to what the industry churns out at present), Monch ravages the microphone with a vigor and creativity even the best MC's are probably bitterly envious of. Whether waxing battle rhymes that never meander into cliché ("Behind Closed Doors," "The Next Shit") or crafting some bleak and gut-churning visuals ("Hell" and the disturbingly brilliant "Rape"), Monch crafts an album that's as varied sonically and lyrically as all the most treasured hip-hop classics. And I bet you can't find one head these days who will talk shit about "Simon Says" (a modern-day anthem among hip-hop fans; those like me who talked shit ended up eating our hats). The inclusion of some Rawkus-era teasers like "Mayor" and "WWIII" would have been a nice touch, but considering Monch's until recent label hassles, having a full-length from one of the most overlooked MC's of all-time was something to be treasured. Taking the intellectual and articulate concerns of Organized Konfusion's trilogy and infusing them with a lively club atmosphere, Internal Affairs is a near-classic in its own right.

Beyond all reasonable doubt, this album's packed with gems. From the radio-friendly & over-played "Simon Says"...the MOP-backed Alchemist-produced "No Mercy", all the way to the tongue-twisting "Hell" which features Can-I-Bus...not once do you feel the urge to push the FFWD button! Well, except maybe to skip "Simon Says" coz I've heard it a hundred to many times! The sexual "The Ass" is a track I keep going back to...coz it's different from the usual sex-story. "Right Here" is just so ruff, rugged and raw! A Pharoahe-fuelled street anthem. With Busta on "The Next Shit", you know it's a rap! Guaranteed to get any HipHop party blazin! And for the ladies, and for fellas on those laid back days when you don't feel like bangin ya head, Pharoahe got you on lock in "The Light", and the philosophical "God Send" and "The Truth", with Common thrown in for added measure. Overall...undiluted, uncompromised HipHop at it's finest.

The mainstream market had a taste, or maybe a full course meal, of Pharoahe Monch with the overplayed Simon Says. Don't get me wrong, it is an excellent track, but you can only hear so much of a song before you get somewhat tired of it. If I was in the mood for Pharoahe Monch, I'd much rather listen to many of the other great tracks on this album that seem so easily overlooked; Queens, The Light, and The Truth to name a few of the highlights.