‘The Slickness’ uses progressive hip hop producers. Danger mouse, Madlib and Richard X have all contributed to the production. The result being new styles of hip hop sounds mixed with straight up MCing. This album is certainly a grower. I didn’t expect the tunes on this album to be so laid back compared to the upbeat hard hitting sounds from Organized Konfusion. The music is progressive and this album is certainly original. There’s some really cool grooves like ‘Love Thang’ and upbeat solid hip hop tracks like ‘Bump Bump’ featuring Raekwon, which is excellent. However the most of the other tracks aren’t as obviously infectious. The’re more cool, slick, clever and space age in some places. Prince Po’s MCing is still top class however to me he portrays a more lazy, professor type of delivery. The lyrics are unpretentious and demonstrate poetic skill. He’s certainly stretching the art form and creating new sounds. This album is original and takes a few listens to get into. There’s certainly new styles being created and I guess a lot of thought that has gone into this album. To me it stands out on it’s own in an industry fixated on ‘bling’. It’s not a hard hitting album, more a subliminal grower. Tareck Ghoneim |
