Veteran emcees, tired of the nature of industry politics, have now unified against the dumbing down of hip hop for mainstream consumption. Hip hop’s pop turn has apparently offended the likes of Jay-Z, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and a plethora more. Their response? A decision to release into the atmosphere classic hip hop, stripped and devoid of autotune, heavy synthesizers, pop samples and other tricks meant to gain Billboard love and Clear Channel spins. The latest and possibly most intriguing entrant into the fray? The combination of Mississippi hip hop hero David Banner and legendary NY producer 9th Wonder for the no frills, self released lamentation on the destruction of the true music superstar ideal, Death of a Pop Star.
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This album is a bizarre mash of styles that likely five years ago in the careers of both men wouldn’t work. Banner is a heavyweight both in the studio and on the mic. This is the exact same David Banner whose exquisite synth and 808 workout “Rubberband Man” guided Tip Harris into the mainstream. This is the exact same Daivd Banner whose biggest mainstream hit was the filthy sexual come on “Play,” and the completely ridiculous though stone cold rhyming on “Like a Pimp.” This album is a rap veteran in repose, a man who has become wealthier than his expectations relaxing with tracks and attempting to advance his craft. 9th Wonder is a North Carolina transplant to NYC whose love of chopped up samples of old soul records has made him a neo-soul and underground hip hop mainstay with high credibility. This is a partnership that is successful because of talent meeting patience and success as the outcome.
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Banner’s decision to have as the only mainstream impulse on the album a noticeable attempt to drop his southern drawl and fully enunciate syllables is noted. As well, he is a great emcee, and over 9th Wonder laying out a bed of soulful yet understated melodies,we really get to hear Banner as wordsmith, storyteller and true appreciator of hip hop for the first time in his career. Radio friendly single “Slow Down” takes an R & B sample and blends with with Banner’s baritone for a hard rhyming tale of caution. Tracks like “Silly” featuring Erykah Badu and the excellent “Stutter” buoyed by the robustly soulful voice of Anthony Hamilton are solid yarns about performers being unable to truly access their dreams because of their desire to sell their soul as artists before even getting to take their first step as hip hop contenders.
This is an undeniably great album. It’s a potent listen filled with eleven earnest sermons on the failure of hip hop music to protect its young in the face of the rapid decline of the music industry. However, David Banner pimped the very system he now stands against to achieve his wealth and status, and 9th Wonder has successfully avoided the spotlight and made his way. For these two men to stand and deliver against the deplorable actions of the music industry is akin to robbing a bank to become a millionaire, accumulating knowledge from disassociating yourself from fellow thieves and then talking from the position of clouded hindsight not being 20/20 forgetting how you became rich. If you divorce message from messenger, this is a terrific album. However, if you look at this with a 360 view, it’s both entirely great and entirely hollow at the same time. A hip hop album in 2010 is filled with the same soothsayer logic of my grandfather in 1990. Do as I say, not as I have done. Wisdom passed through the generations is forever worthwhile.
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