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The Nappy Diatribe

One man's throat-chopping reportage.

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Album of the Year: Blu & Exile "Below the Heavens"

Posted 01/03/2008 at 3:35 PM | Comment?

Every year, specifically around the final days of December, I always find myself concocting some rather unattainable list of resolutions - lofty goals so amazingly ambitious, that following a small fraction of said resolutions would make your favorite pre ejaculating blogger qualified for sainthood. My days of thriving to be a more patient person are over, virtues of that nature are reserved for Kindergarten teachers and journalists who interview Lil Wayne - not for ornery 30-something writers whose life's blood happens to be exuding bitter hatred whenever possible and welcoming confrontations from drunk strangers. No longer will I attempt to fool myself into thinking that I will become a more considerate lover in the name of some cliched list - who am I bullshitting, timing my sexual exploits with a stopwatch as if I was a track coach then lovingly whispering into my lady's ear "It's sandwich time!" are some of my more appealing qualities. I've completely abandoned the concept of eating healthy as well, it would be rather hypocritical of me to eat tofu during the day and imbibe nothing but grain alcohol at night - besides, I've kind of grown used to my ever expanding gut, not only has it become my trademark like Linus' blanket but it also shields me from the sobering reality that god didn't anatomically bless me. As for some grand illusion of me exhibiting more tact in 2008, forget about it - just last night I mistook a young lady's nationality, prompting her to angrily state: "I'm not puertorrican, I'm Filipino!!" - in which I very casually responded "Shit, you should have taken that as a compliment!"

But after hearing Blu & Exile's "Below the Heavens" in the middle of 2007, it inspired my first thoughts of the New Year vowing to be more positive about the state of Hip Hop - I have to admit that embracing such sunny rhetoric feels extremely uncomfortable for a career pessimist like myself. This time last year I would have rather sodomized a cactus plant then to look even remotely upbeat about the current plight of the music I love, wincing uncomfortably every time some blogger clumsily took issue with the phrase "Hip Hop is Dead" - sincerely ashamed that hyperbole could be easily lost on so many feeble minded individuals. Of course the music was alive in kicking, but when the public is so thirsty for good Hip Hop that they break out the anointing oils for simply serviceable MC's, and when words like "Swagger" become acceptable criteria above actual lyrical skills - I'll take hyperbolic hand-wringing over complacent acceptance any day of the fucking week.

That being said, "Below the Heavens" takes you back to a time when cohesive albums were the rule and not the exception, when talented wordsmith's didn't feel the need to condescend to their fan-base by dumbing down their lyrical content - outside of my black medallions that I still wear for shits and giggles and an old 10th grade classmate that gives me a "massage" once a week, this album is one of the few things that takes me back to 1988. With stellar production from Exile, and a multifaceted lyrical approach where Blu effortlessly exhibits verbal gymnastics and honest introspection at the same time - this 15 track masterpiece reminds you why you fell in love with Hip Hop in the first place. The track "My World Is.." is an introductory battle cry of lyrical braggadocio, "The Narrow Path" is a driving force that lets the listener know that the road of an MC is of the less traveled variety, "In Remembrance" is a laid back head-nodder where young Blu finds himself fondly looking back when life was much more simple , and "Blu Colla Workers" is a playful track that goes into how ambition can really take a serious toll on your social life. Other standout tracks include "Dancing in the Rain", where the protagonist in this sonic motion picture explains how music is the perfect escapism when the weight of the world gets too heavy, "First Things First", a believable stump speech trying to convince single women to endorse his penniless agenda, "Cold Hearted", the deeply personal recollections of a misspent youth - and "Soul Rising", which is strictly a lyrical assault to remind people that he'll carefully dissect and then proceed to snack on the vital organs of your favorite rapper. Shit man, there isn't a wasted moment to be had on "Below the Heavens" - and if a CD can make a grizzled hater such as myself see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as Hip Hop is concerned, its undoubtedly the Album of the Year.