In Hip-Hop, growing up as a hustler on the streets is nothing new. You couldn't even COUNT how many rappers have made records about their drug-dealing past and how they have risen above that to become big in the rap game. To the kids on the street who are dealing, the idea of a hustler turned rapper is exciting, cause to them, that rapper is someone to look up to ... a hero. Don't get me wrong, I'm not attacking hustler raps at all, but what about the rapper who did an honest day's work to do what he loved? What about the rappers who make it big in the game with the only thing that they've sold on the corner is their music? What about a rapper for the working class heroes?...

"As soon as you're born, they make you feel small
by giving you no time instead of it all
till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all..."

Finally, we have a rapper for the blue collar worker; Chicago native Rhymefest is the archetypal everyman in every sense of the word. He spent years working random low paying jobs, including janitorial work, while trying to make music. He's had a few famous stints in his time, including beating a then unknown Eminem at the 1997 Scribble Jam in Chicago (which was ultimately won by MC Juice in the end, ironically by beating Em as well) or being the co-writer of the hit single "Jesus Walks" from Kanye West's breakthrough debut, "The College Dropout". Not wanting to ride the coattails of the egotistical Roc-a-Fella producer, Fest turned down Kanye's request to ink a deal with his label, G.O.O.D. Music, eventually deciding to sign with J Records. After being delayed for half a year Rhymefest's hard work had finally paid off with the release of his long-awaited debut "Blue Collar": an opportunity to show the world that rappers that don't sell drugs on the streets can make good music too.

Reflecting the album's title, plenty of tracks find 'Fest discussing the plight of lower middle class in the Midwest. The laid-back "More" is the album's major dosage of "Real Talk 101", as 'Fest himself puts it. On this one, he tears into the human's obsession with greed, basically stating that no matter how much wealth one can have, that person will always want more. With a balance of heartfelt emotion and humor, he dispenses advice for other blue collar workers out there, even advocating the use of condoms at one point. But even better is the track "Devils Pie", which is built off, of all things, a sample of The Strokes' "Someday". Over the punchy Strokes guitars, 'Fest discusses the daily struggles he and his family have to endure: "I'm fighting for strength, in the street, grinding for cents / I know I'm ahead of my time but I'm behind on my rent / asking Kanye for money just for paying my gas bill / he asked for it back, nigga brush up on your math skills! / nothing plus zip equals zero / he couldn't relate, that nigga ain't been broke since 'H to the Izzo'". He also talks about the evils that people do just to get by, attacking modern day politics in the bridge ("George Bush, step up, and get you a slice / Tony Blair, step up, and get you a slice / Rumsfeld, step up, and get you a slice / Condi Rice, step up, and get you a slice") and then immediately flipping it to show that we all have our faults ("Wait, I'mma step up, and get me a slice / my baby momma stepped up, and got her a slice / everybody step up, and get you a slice").

"They hurt you at home and they hit you at school
They hate you if you're clever and they despise a fool
till you're so fucking crazy, you can't follow their rules..."

Rhymefest spends much of the album flexing his storytelling abilities, and to go with the album's theme, most of the stories revolve around the lower middle class in Chicago. The only real storytelling track that isn't as serious is "Build Me Up", a lighthearted track that finds 'Fest pining after the girl of his dreams. The track features Ol' Dirty Bastard on the hook, where he badly sings the chorus of the song "Build Me Up, Buttercup", putting it over the top in hilarity (if anything, this cut will make you miss ODB even more). But, for that seriousness, we have songs like the laid-back "Sister"; it's your basic uplifting cut, dedicated every woman that's fighting the odds. The struggle that women go through is a subject that has been covered before by countless artists, but despite that fact, the track is still listenable. It ain't no "Keep Your Head Up", but it's still good. Vocalist Mike Payne is prominently featured on the hook, where he croons that women are "worth more than gold". But the album's best storytelling track (and the album's overall standout track) is "Bullet", a reworking of the Citizen Cope song "Bullet and a Target". It's a heartbreaking track where 'Fest details three stories of people from his hood and how they put themselves 'between a bullet and a target'. While the second and third verses are both great, covering a mack daddy who catches HIV after screwing various broads without protection and a kid who died in the street due to his gangsta ways, the track is really made by the first verse. This verse covers a kid who joins the army right out of high school because he has no other way to pay for college. Soon as he's done with boot camp, he's immediately shipped to Iraq where he is eventually killed in combat. Fest ends his verse with the line "Don't be mad, he died for the flag". It's a classic storytelling track that is executed to perfection.

"When they've tortured and scared you for twenty odd years
then they expect you to pick a career
when you can't really function you're so full of fear..."

Rhymefest also has his share of commercially appealing material, but the quality of the material is sketchy at best. The best of these tracks is the club song "Get Down". Using a laid back beat with a simple but catchy hood, 'Fest gives us a danceable club song that doesn't sacrifice his use of dope lyricism or humor, as you can see from this excerpt: "You dangerous, but I'm game for this / and I don't kiss cause that can get cankerous / white girls be claiming the sun is cancerous / pull my dick out -- now I done caused a damn eclipse!". We also have the potential radio single, "All Girls Cheat". Over a Cool & Dre beat, 'Fest lets us know that a woman's plan to cheat on her man is a little bit more contrived than a man's is to cheat on his woman. It's a decent track, but the subject matter is kind of tired, making the song monotonous. Finally, we have "Stick", a completely horrid sex song. Overall, the sounds like a poor rip off of two other shitty club songs: Busta Rhymes' "Touch It" and the Ying Yang Twinz' "Whisper Song" (just listen to it and you'll see what I mean). While the overall mainstream appeal is decent, it's the department where Rhymefest fails the most.

"Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
and you think you're so clever and classless and free
but you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see..."

Like most underground emcees nowadays, Fest leaves more than enough room for braggadocio songs -- hell, the albums begins with three of them, including the first single "Brand New". This one features Fest's buddy, Kanye West, making one of his two features on the album (the other was him doing the hook on the aforementioned "More"). Over the excellent production, Fest brings his 'A' game, cracking jokes like "Besides, your breasts is augmented - I like things authentic". As for Kanye, you might have heard his verse when he performed on Def Poetry Jam last year; the verse is just the type of bravado you would expect from him, as he brushes off all the haters and rallies for schools to focus on Black history every day instead of just one month out of the year. The other two braggadocio songs that start off the album are "Dynomite (Going Postal)", a Just Blaze-produced banger that utilizes the famed vocal sample of Jimmy 'J.J.' Walker from the TV show "Good Times", and "Fever", a latin-themed brag-fest that is sure to heat up the dance floor as well. While they're both dope tracks, the former is definitely the better of the two, as 'Fest confidently declares to have the world in the palm of his hands. "Chicago-Rillas" is another brag-track featured later on in the album, but it suffers from poor production as well as half-assed guest appearances from fellow Chicagoan emcees Mikkey and Bump J.

"There's room at the top they are telling you still
but first you must learn how to smile as you kill
if you want to be like the folks on the hill..."

So far, this year has not been a good year for Hip-Hop. Most of the albums I was greatly anticipating turned out to be mediocre or not what I expected. That's why I can honestly say "Blue Collar" was good surprise for me, cause it was actually a lot better than I expected. The album is a great mixture of braggadocio, storytelling, and 'real talk 101'. His 'blue collar' personality really shines through, so you'll know what type of emcee he is and the group of people he represents. And while there are unquestionably plenty of dope tracks, this set could have been improved by ditching a couple of weaker songs that bring down the middle of the album (like "Stick" and "Chicago-Rillas"). These few tracks are what holds this album back and prevents it from being held on the highest pedestal. But even still, it's an excellent debut and one of the better album's I've heard so far this year. The major purpose of "Blue Collar" is to show that the working class has their own rapper that they can look up to, and that not every rapper has to be a gangsta or a hustler. I can confidently say that Rhymefest has accomplished his mission, and I look forward to hearing how much better he can get in the future.

"A working class hero is something to be

If you want to be a hero ... well, just follow me."

Final Rating: 4 1/2 Stars

Tracklisting:
1. Feel Free (Intro) feat. Q-Tip (NOT RATED)
2. Dynomite (Going Postal) (5 Stars)
3. Brand New feat. Kanye West (5 Stars)
4. Fever (5 Stars)
5. All I Do (4 1/2 Stars)
6. Get Down (4 1/2 Stars)
7. More feat. Kanye West (5 Stars)
8. Chicago-Rillas feat. Mikkey & Bump J (3 Stars)
9. Stick (2 Stars)
10. All Girls Cheat feat. Mario (3 1/2 Stars)
11. Devil's Pie (5 Stars)
12. Sister feat. Mike Payne (4 Stars)
13. Mr. Blue Collar (Interlude) feat. Malik Yusef (NOT RATED)
14. Bullet feat. Citizen Cope (5 Stars)
15. Tell a Story (4 Stars)
16. Build Me Up feat. Ol' Dirty Bastard (5 Stars)


Recommended: Yes