Back in Rap’s infancy, the only way for emcees to tell who was better was to battle. An emcee battle has two basic forms. The first is the live battle, which consists of two rappers facing off in person, using witty metaphors and clever lyrics to put each other down. The second form is the recorded battle, in which rappers take each other on in the studio, responding to each other’s disses on a song. Now, the term “battle” implies violence, but a true emcee battle involves no physical fighting at all. A classic emcee battle is a test of skills. How well he/she has mastered the use of lyrics, metaphor, and even improvisation will determine the victor of an emcee battle.

New York rapper Canibus is arguably one of the best studio battlers of our time. After rap veteran LL Cool J yanked Canibus’ verse off the “4, 3, 2, 1” single, ‘Bis responded with the devastating “Second Round K.O.” and the world watched as “the Ripper” fell to a rookie that many had never heard of. LL tried to come back with “The Ripper Strikes Back”, but compared to what Canibus wrote, it was a pathetic joke.

Unfortunately, there’s much more to being a successful rap artist than battle skills, and Canibus learned that after releasing his disappointing debut LP Can-I-bus? . Even though Canibus’ lyrics were just as sharp as anyone would expect, they were recorded over Wyclef Jean and Jerry Wonder’s unimpressive beats, so it received a lukewarm reception from rap fans. With his sophomore CD, 2000 B.C. (Before Can-I-Bus) the rapper made sure that the beats were sharper, recruiting a variety of talented producers to lay tracks for him. His mission with this LP: Redemption.

The 2000 B.C. CD starts out with “The C-Quel”. Over the theme from the 70’s cop show “S.W.A.T.”, Canibus rips vocals using his patented “scientific” delivery. The next song is the title track for the CD and is by far my favorite on the LP. Producer Ty Fyffe architects the beat for Canibus, using a segment of an opera requiem for the rather dramatic background vocals. The intimidating bass and drums follow the rhythmic pattern of the requiem, making for a very powerful battle track. Canibus knows he has to rip the mic over this spectacular beat, and does so with these lyrics:

“you mad at the last album, I apologize for it /
Yo, I can't call it, motherf**kin' Wyclef spoiled it /
But this time for ‘99 I got 5 on it /
You should double up and put a dime on it /
Matter of fact, triple your nickel and put 14.99 on it /
I'm a shine on it /
Watch Flex drop a bomb on it /
About ten times on it /
Watch people call a request line for it /
Cipher sounds keep pushing rewind on it /
Look out for the album with the Canibus design on it /
12 O’clock in the morning you'll be standing on line for it /
I'm a live poet, with a sharp ear and eye for it /
‘Cause I tear down mics and put an ‘Out of Order’ sign on it /”


Track 3, brings up “Life Liquid” featuring Journalist. Juju from the rap/production group The Beatnuts, puts together a great battle track for the two to rhyme over. For the lyrics, ‘Bis and Journalist explore various ways to torture and kill as the name of the song implies. It’s really a very violent track, but the clever metaphors and wordplay used help to distract the listener from the theme.

Rap living legend Rakim teams up with Canibus on “I’ll Buss ‘Em U Punish ‘Em”, and the results are awesome. Canibus spits his usual assortment of intricately woven battle raps, while the veteran Rakim manages to keep up with his own lyrical barrage. It’s a testament to Ra’s skill that even at his age, he’s still able to match up with a “Ripper ripper” like Canibus, especially when ‘Bis puts together lyrics like these:

“F**k a pad and a pen, I write rhymes on an IBM /
Ebonics is dead, the binary language is in /
Canibus practices in a room with a thousand candles lit /
Meditating on this rap sh*t /
Because my freestyle reigns sovereign /
Wit a deeper conscious than the prophet Muhammad was born with /
My brain cavity is enormous /
My left hemisphere alone harnesses all of the seven Chakras /”

You can almost see the clouds part and the moon turn crimson when guest Pharohe Monch starts his acapella freestyle on track 12, “Horsemen” . His skilled, multi-syllable style of rapping serves as the perfect segue into the next song, “Horsementality” . The track features the other members of the Horsemen, West-coaster Rass Kass, ex-Wu affiliate Killah Priest, and DPGC member Kurupt. The producer, aptly named Chaos puts together a spirited, up-tempo beat utilizing rumbling bass and a very sparse melody to accentuate the delivery of the rappers. Each member spits venomous darts over the track in their own individual style, with Canibus bringing up the rear. Beware the Horsemen in 2002.

The next to last song, “100 Bars” is one of Canibus more impressive songs on 2000 B.C. Here he raps a written freestyle for almost five minutes with no hooks or breaks. That takes a great deal of rapping ability, especially over the rapid tempo that producer Punch selects for the track.

So all in all, I really don’t think that this is the horrible album the critics made it out to be. The production isn’t stellar, but it’s certainly better than the music on Can-I-Bus? . There’s no variety in subject matter here, but Canibus’ is so proficient at sharp, deadly battle lyrics that it’s almost unimaginable that he can rap about anything else.

At this point, Canibus really just needs to call up DJ Premier and beg the prolific and respected rap producer to do at least half of his next album. He’ll need the best production on the planet in order to redeem himself from two poorly received albums.

I do recommend buying 2000 B.C., but only if you love to hear battle lyrics, because that’s all you’re going to get.



Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving