To say that it's been a long time coming for Papoose would be quite the understatement. For nearly a decade, Papoose has been a fan favorite for many underground east coast rap fans. With countless mixtapes, memorable guest verses and a laundry list of other songs, it's very easy to see that this debut album of his has been eagerly anticipated by fans. Well now the wait is over. I know for some, including me, it seems so strange that Papoose has been in the game for so long and he's just releasing his major label debut in 2013. But after listening I can honestly say the wait may have been worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed the majority of this album. The overall sound made me reminisce back to the late 90's/early 2000's New York sound. The production was solid for the most part. Your typical hard, grimey, head nodding east coast style beats. Lyrics were obviously dope as Papoose is one of NY's dopest lyricists. Here's some notable tracks for me. First of all, it wasn't until I listened to the intro of this album that I realized Nacirema is actually American spelled backwards. In that intro he explains why he titled the album that way. That totally went over my head. By far the track that stood out to me the most was "Cure". Here he plays the role of both cancer and AIDS and breaks down how both can harm and potentially kill you. It's basically a cancer/AIDS awareness song. Very creatively done. Speaking of creativity, another favorite was the last track "Alphabetical Slaughter Pt. II". The follow up to the first one that was released in 2005. One of the most lyrically creative hip hop songs of all time in my opinion. For those that never heard the first, this is where he takes every letter in the alphabet and every time DJ Kay Slay, who provides the ad-libs, yells out a letter Papoose rhymes with every word beginning with that letter. This time on part 2, he does it backwards from Z to A. Not only that, the beat is reversed so it sound like it's being played backwards. Extremely dope. "Turn It Up" was another favorite simply because DJ Premier is one of my favorite producers ever and this was another dope beat done by him. He calls upon Jadakiss and Jim Jones for "6 AM" which samples the opening line from the classic Ice-T song. Cool sample and song. Speaking of samples, Lloyd Bank's voice is borrowed for "Aim Shoot" which features Mobb Deep. This track is so dope and it just sounds like early 2000's New York. "Get At Me" caught me by surprise. I thought this was be a commercial attempt because Ron Browz is on it (remember him? "Pop Champagne", "Jumpin' Out The Window" etc.) but it wasn't. It was actually not that bad. "Motion Picture", "Nacirema Dream" and "Faith" were other favorites as well. There were a couple flaws to me however. The two singles I really wasn't feeling at all. The first one was "On Top Of My Game" which features Mavado. This was the only song on the album that sounds like what hip hop sounds like right now. The generic bass bumping repetitive drum beat. For any other rapper or album I would be find with this song but it didn't mesh with the sound of the rest of this album. The second single "What's My Name" features Remy Ma, who of course he has a history with, and is probably the most awkwardly sounding song on here. The song samples the timeless 1974 classic "For The Love Of Money" by The O'Jays and samples it poorly. The entire beat is the same as the old song. The flirty lyrics from both Papoose and Remy (I'm assuming towards each other) just seem so awkward. Like a weird romance type thing. This sample could have worked but it doesn't here. On "Pimpin' Won't Die" I kinda see where he was going with it speaking about troubled young black women. I like the topic but the song itself just had a poor sound. The hook is bad and the beat sounds too "happy" for a song speaking on such a serious topic. That could have been done better. Well, overall I was very pleased with this album. Great lyrics, good production, good collaborations and more. I give it a final grade of a B. If you're a fan of hip hop's new sound, which is all about beats and hooks than you won't like this. This album is for those fans of lyrical rappers on hard east coast styles beats. You all will love it. A lot of folks wouldn't have thought Papoose could put together a solid debut after such a long wait. I knew he had this in him. Just don't keep us waiting next time Pap. End.
Final Grade: B
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