Looking Ahead: The 2002 Hip-Hop Music Preview!
Apr 01 '02 (Updated Apr 03 '02)
The Bottom Line Your money is your voice. Don't support these wack sell-out rappers anymore. Look for artists who actually care about their art. They're out there. Find them.
If you’ve been reading any of my reviews for the past year, you know that I believe that the past two years has been amongst the worst that Rap music has ever seen. Commercial rap has swept through Hip-Hop like a virus, infecting the art with “jiggy” overproduced beats, insipid lyrics, and inane thuuggery/gangsterism. Rap music in general has taken a huge dive, with quality and artistic integrity going right down the toilet.
Well the time’s over for complaining. Instead of whining about the mountains of dreck that the evil record companies are going to be trying to shove down our throats this year, I decided to be proactive and compile a list of the few hopefully actually worthwhile releases that are scheduled to be dropping in 2002. Each of the releases listed are from skilled and talented Hip-Hop artists who will most likely be buried by whatever marketing tactic the labels will use to promote their pop-rap crap. Just remember; as is the norm with the rap genre, all the listed release dates are VERY tentative and are probably extremely optimistic.
April 23, 2002: Camp Lo - Let’s Do It Again
- It seemed like the duo of Sonny Cheeba and Geechie Suede just completely fell off the face of the earth after blessing Hip-Hop with hazy visions of 70’s soul-infused rap on their 1997 debut, Uptown Saturday Night. Luckily for fans, the “diamond crooks” are back, and are ready to ready to “do it again” with their new album. Be on the lookout for the first singles, “Cookers” and "Trouble Man" .
April 23, 2002: Pacewon – Won
One of the most venomous members out of New Jersey’s infamous rap crew The Outsidaz has stepped out of the shadows with his own solo LP. Pacewon is one of my favorites out of this mob from the Bricks, because of his ability to spit inspired freestyles and battle lyrics, but still deal with personal topics like the death of group member Slang Ton. Expect Won to be tight, but still massively slept on.
April 23, 2002: Cee-Lo - Cee-Lo Green & His Perfect Imperfections
- I’ve always said the Cee-Lo was one of the most underrated emcees in Hip-Hop, and in April fans across the world who have slept on this man will definitely get a wake up call. A skilled emcee out of Atlanta’s Goodie Mob, Cee-Lo’s debut will feature some of the reflective and poetic raps that fans have become accustomed to, as well as allow the artist to flaunt his gritty but soulful singing voice. Most likely the album will have more singing than some fans will be comfortable with, but it will definitely be an enjoyable ride.
April 30, 2002 - Blackalicious – Blazing Arrow
It’s terrific that rap fans appear to finally be getting into the real rap artists out there. Their fourth album and major label debut, Blazing Arrow will hopefully feature more of the eclectic mix of ripping battle tracks, meaningful soul pieces, and envelope-pushing experimentation that made their past efforts so enjoyable. Artists and poets are definitely showing their love for these two innovators as well, stopping by to blend with the duo on some impressive looking collaborations. Expect to see guest spots by Zach de la Rocha, Ben Harper, ?uestlove, Chali 2na and Cut Chemist (Jurassic 5), Rakaa-Iriscience (Dilated Peoples), Gil Scott Heron, Saul Williams, Tracey Moore (Jazzyfatnasteez), James Poyser, and the Quannum crew of course.
April 2002: Common - Electric Circus
-After last year’s overdue success, the mainstream finally caught onto what underground heads have known for a long time; Common is the man. Finally propelled into commercial rap’s limelight driven by the mass appeal of “The Light” and “Geto Heaven” this Chicago rapper at last has both the respect and the budget he needs to make some truly incredible music. Fans of LWFC may be slightly disappointed though as Common doesn’t mean to reproduce his previous album with his next LP. With Electric Circus, Com plans to make slightly more eclectic music than his last album, and backed by the uber-talented Soulquarians, it’s guaranteed to be tight.
April 2002: Dead Prez – People’s Radio
For a long while political rap slept. Sure the heavy hitters like Public Enemy, KRS-ONE, The Coup were still around, but for the most part, these groups had nowhere near the power and influence that they did in the early 90’s. Thankfully, political rap returned in 2000, reincarnated as Dead Prez. With Peoples Radio, M-1 and stic.man will continue the incendiary rhymes over powerful beats that propelled them to the limelight two tears ago. If the revolution is truly going to be televised, look for Dead Prez to be on the soundtrack.
May 14,2002: Talib Kweli – Quality
After Reflection Eternal’s much heralded debut, Train of Thought, It will be interesting to see if Kweli can be just as effective without the production power of DJ Hi-Tek. For some reason the two were not able to work together for most of this album, so it will have a slightly different flavor than the R.E. joint. Still Kweli is a capable artist, and definitely has the connections to scrounge up some superb tracks to complement his rapid-fire vocals. Collaborations with DJ Quik and Pharohe Monch appear to be among this album’s highlights.
May 22, 2002: Black Star – Galactica
It looks like Mos Def and Talib Kweli’s follow-up to their classic debut may finally be dropping this year. Rumors of this album’s release have been swarming since early last year, but the busy schedules of these artists probably made any kind of real work on this impossible. Kweli has confirmed that he and Mos have already starting working together on tracks, so it’s definitely in the works. However, given the recent situation at Rawkus and the hectic schedules of these rappers, expect this release date to be extremely sketchy.
June 2002: The Roots – Phrenology
What else can you say about the Roots? Simply Hip-Hop/Jazz fusion at its finest. For their new album, expect more of the same; near-flawless production by ?uest and the Soulquarians, fiery vocals by Black Thought and Malik B, and some great guest appearances from some of Hip-Hop’s finest artists. Okayplayer.
June 11, 2002: KRS-ONE – Kris Styles
Seemingly fresh off the heels of his successful Gospel Rap album, KRS is back in the studio ready to record. Reportedly Kris Styles is shaping up to be a more conventional album from the Blastmaster than Spiritual Minded, so expect more pounding beats, deft lyricism, and a healthy dose of political commentary and thoughts on metaphysics. Class isn’t over; the Teacher isn’t done with his lessons yet.
August 20, 2002: Ras Kass – Van Gogh
- This is probably the single most eagerly awaited release in this entire list, due to the fact that it has been pushed back so many times. Initially slated to come out last year, massive bootlegging forced the original masters back into the lab for a major revamp. After adding more guest appearances by some of the best producers in Hip-Hop to Ras Kass’ fiery lyricism, Van Gogh looks like its going to be even better than the promotional reviews first indicated. Pre-order this. Note to the cats who keep bootlegging this: PLEASE STOP! Those of us who actually SUPPORT rap artists would like to hear this album sometime before WE DIE.
September 2002: Lauryn Hill – Untitled
-After five Grammy awards, four MTV Music Video Awards, three Soul Train Lady of Soul awards, three NAACP Image awards, three Rolling Stone Music awards, two Source awards, and numerous other varied forms of critical acclaim for her 1999 solo debut, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, it’s more than understandable that L-Boogie would take an extended hiatus from music before starting work on her next LP. However, with Lauryn’s passion for creating music recently reignited, fans can look forward to another terrific outing from the ex-Fugee later this year. Unfortunately, with L’s increased emphasis on creating acoustic music I don’t expect a whole lot of emceeing on this release, but it’s going to be a worthwhile listen regardless. Also, be sure to pick up her Unplugged album due out in May.
September 2002: Black Thought – Masterpiece Theatre
- I almost lost my mind when I heard the remarkable first singles from this LP, “Hardware” and “Thought At Work”. The current frontman from the critically acclaimed jazz/Hip-Hop fusion group The Roots goes for dolo to discover and explore his own sound. Even though Tariq Trotter won’t have the Roots crew backing him consistently throughout this LP, he absolutely will not be lacking in the beat department. Producers signed on for the effort include Jay Dee, Pete Rock, Rockwilder, Scott Storch, DJ Krush, Hedrush, and Chaos.
Fall 2002: Mos Def - Hated By Many, Loved By Few, Respected By All
I honestly don’t know how Mos Def has time for a solo LP considering he’s also starring in movies, plays, recording for his Black Star collaboration with Talib Kweli, as well as recording with his rock band, Black Jack Johnson. Mos must be a master at multitasking, because his follow-up to his successful solo debut Black on Both Sides is slated for a release later this year. Hopefully Mos Def will bring the inspired lyricism and soulful feel that pervaded his debut. A few tracks from Black Jack Johnson would be pretty nice as well.
Fall 2002: Nas – Death of Escobar
- Apparently Nasir Jones has finally learned that street poetry is his forte, not jiggy club tracks. Publicly renouncing commercial rap after the Jigga-defeating unexpected success of last year’s Stillmatic, Nas will continue to re-discover his underground roots by killing his commercial alter-ego “Nas Escobar” with his next LP, Death of Escobar. Let Jay-Z claim the King of New York title; Nas has proven that in Hip-Hop the true power lies in appeasing the common folk.
TBA 2002: Gza – Above the Surface
- The Wu-flood Rza predicted for 2002 last year will definitely come to a crest with a new release from Gza. The literal “Genius” behind the Hip-Hop classic album Liquid Swords, Gza returns to paint an album with more darkened Shaolin soundscapes, using sublime metaphors and serrated lyrics as his brushes. Expect killer collabos from the Killa Beez and production by Rza and the Wu-Elements.
TBA 2002: The Horsemen - Untitled
- If you asked any Hip-Hop head which rappers epitomize the term “battle emcee”, odds are you would hear the names Ras Kass, Kurupt, Canibus, and Killah Priest come up repeatedly. These four solo artists have combined to form the battle rap conglomerate The Four Horsemen, and expect to see the broken bodies of wack emcees lying in their wake. This project has been in the works for a while now, and each time the Horsemen have surfaced (2000 B.C., Priesthood), the results have been amazing. There’s no release date yet so make sure you keep your eyes peeled.
TBA 2002: Rakim – Oh My God
- The father of modern emceeing returns for the third time since his hiatus, and this time he’s not playing around. Though his first two albums since his return, The 18th Letter and The Master, were impeccable lyrically, it was the lackluster production that kept this rap legend from truly shining on those efforts. Signing with Aftermath records has teamed Ra up with one of the foremost beatmakers in Hip-Hop, Dr. Dre. With Dre’s hot beats supplementing Rakim Allah’s devastatingly sharp lyrics, never has an album been more appropriately titled.
So, when you’re perusing your local record store and find yourself having difficulty passing the gigantic endcap featuring the latest release from MC Icey Bling and the Pimp Trick Gangsta Click, just remember this list and keep your wallet closed. There’s some great Rap music coming out, but you’ll definitely have to be patient and side step the silicone frisbees. Supporting these artists will help to ensure that Hip-Hop music continues to grow and improve in 2003.
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DON'T CALL IT A COMEB... wait. I guess you actually can call it a comeback.
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