Pros: Free, creative, bizarre mix of rap, rock, and funk...
Cons: Probably a bit too strange & dark for the average listener...
The Bottom Line: Appealing to even rock girls, Paradise Don't Come Cheap came as a big shock. Great rhymes, amazing beats, and yes...even electric guitars.
lambchops's Full Review: Paradise Don't Come Cheap * by New Kingdom
It’s no secret that my tastes tend to start and stop within the realm of rock n’ roll. Sure, I occasionally stumble upon something in another genre that peaks my interest, but generally said music isn’t far away from rock or pop or alternative. But there are an exception or two to this rule. One such exception is the work of a little known funk-rap act hailing from New York City called New Kingdom.
I stumbled on New Kingdom in the exact same way I found Jim White. The Morcheeba Back to Mine compilation featured one song from the act called Cheap Thrills. I was fascinated by the sound of the song and the duo and quickly sought out the sophomore release Paradise Don’t Come Cheap. The first striking thing about the album is that it defies all pigeonholes and definition. Clearly the core of New Kingdom rests in rap. But what is surprising about the act is that they so skillfully integrate both metal (it is impossible not to love the electric guitars) and funk into the picture. This is at least in part what appealed to me.
But there was something else. The duo of Jason Furlow and Sebastian Laws come at music from a dark, twisted, foreboding place and in the end this is what separates them from most of mainstream music and rap alike. This is also what likely prevented them from ever becoming truly successful despite the fact that Paradise Don’t Come Cheap is an amazing album. As mentioned, the act had one prior release in the form of 1993’s Heavy Load (which included the aforementioned track Cheap Thrills) but it was really with the later 1996 release that some small population took note. This was also essentially the last to date that music listeners have gotten to hear from them.
New Kingdom is one of those acts that should have been more popular based singly on Paradise Don’t Come Cheap. They should have been the direction hip-hop was going. They should have made millions. But as with many creative and revolutionary things, they didn’t have enough backing to get much further then the occasional compilation album. This really is too bad. They are weird, yes, but also this innovation paired with great production and rhymes makes for a uniquely compelling experience.
Paradise Don’t Come Cheap is hard to compare to other albums from other artists. On different levels they have been compared to Public Enemy and Wu-Tang Clan, but personally I have trouble finding any proper comparisons to anybody. The uniqueness of this band and this album are what prove most appealing. Dropped on audiences by Gee Street in 1996, the disc contains fifteen tracks. On first listen, the album is harsh and thick and difficult to digest. But further exploration turns up a wholly different angle, one that relates the album more to a bastard combination of Tom Waits and Tricky. Brilliant, I tell ‘ya, brilliant.
Completely lacking any references to 40’s or hos (as common in all too much of mainstream rap and hip-hop), New Kingdom instead weaves into their rhymes gratuitous pop culture references including Muppets, Black Sabbath, Bruce Lee, and even mythical unicorns. It is an initially random and finally coherent kaleidoscope of words and images that make these songs, rhymes, and this album flow perfectly. Paradise Don’t Come Cheap is certainly a worthwhile experiment in music from the start of Mexico or Bust through the finale Journey to the Sun.
Speaking of Mexico or Bust, the track is the perfect setup to what follows. It is dark and winding, with a thickly arranged melody. The rhymes are built around a convoluted and challenging beat not to mention a saxophone. It works well on many levels and acts as a proper introduction to the album and duo as a whole.
As Paradise Don’t Come Cheap continues, there are some absolutely incredible offerings. Co Pilot, Suspended in Air, Animal and Horse Latitudes all fit into this category with Suspended in Air likely ranking as the best and Co Pilot coming in a close second. Suspended in Air begins with a wailing rock electric guitar and soon kicks in with distorted and darkly compelling rhymes. As it continues, the track becomes increasingly profound.
Co Pilot is nearly as fascinating, but for different reasons. Once again turning to funk rock the track whips and whirls in a creepy, confident, extra-terrestrial manner not in the least bit drawing on anything aside from creative momentum. It is difficult to speak about New Kingdom as there is little to compare them to. They seemed to have a handle on what makes for truly great music back in 1996. Their album (which made NME’s top fifty of the year among other lists) was oft-ignored but because of this, their sound still sounds refreshing these years later. The fifteen tracks flow nicely into one another. Each brings something dark and entertaining to the mix. The distorted rhymes take a bit of time to decipher, but the wait is well worth it…Furlow and Laws are talented writers as evidenced by the anxious words to Unicorns Were Horses:
Unicorns were horses
Nowadays when I write
The forces send me voices
Got me runnin through mazes
Drivin' down superhighways phazin phrases
My ways is dangerous on an open road
Daddy still got me truckin' this heavy load
Guess it just beez like that sometimes
But it is clear that New Kingdom also has a sense of humor (they freely admit that Muppet Animal was the best drummer of all time on track Animal). Paradise Don’t Come Cheap is an album that should be heard with an open mind. It was a free, intelligent exercise in rap mayhem minus all the bad clichés too often expounded upon. This makes for a good listen for fans of rap, rock, industrial, funk, and indie alike. Hence my undeniable enjoyment of the album. Highly, highly recommended.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars rounded up to 5/5
Track Listing:
1. Mexico or Bust
2. Horse Latitudes
3. Infested
4. Unicorns Were Horses
5. Kickin' Like Bruce Lee
6. Shining Armor
7. Paradise Don't Come Cheap
8. Co Pilot
9. Big 10 1/2
10. Valhalla Soothsayer
11. Animal
12. Half Asleep
13. Terror Mad Visionary
14. Suspended in Air
15. Journey to the Sun
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