Sean Price - Jesus Price Supastar
@@@@ ¼ (better than @@@@ but not quite @@@@ ½ )
The mid-90’s golden age of Hip-Hop is long past us, with only select acts like The Roots, Common, and Nas able to maintain commercial and critical relevance over a decade after their introductions. As the culture took a more commercial turn, the once esteemed Boot Camp Clik was one of many that were counted out for until Heltah Skeltah’s Sean Price rose like a phoenix from the ashes with 2005’s Monkey Barz. With this album he carried the crew on his shoulders, no different from how Ghostface kept the Wu-Tang brand from disintegrating altogether. Once considered the weak half of his group with fans deferring to Rock’s gritty voice, Ruck has proven he can hold his own and then some. Layman proclamations (such as being “the brokest rapper you know”), and standoffish boasts regarding his MC caliber, splashed with the mix of a class clown/hooligan from Brownsville character has made for reality rap at its finest. Jesus Price Supastar is Sean Price’s long awaited sophomore effort, promising an even greater abundance of the ignorance that diehard followers have come to revere.
The bulk of the album’s production is handled by Justus League chieftains 9th Wonder and Khrysis, along with their affiliate 10 for the Triad. From the heavenly “Violence” to the raucous “Hearing Aid”, the aptly titled monstrosity of “King Kong” and the soulful “Let It Be Known” (featuring a stellar guest appearance by Little Brother’s Phonte), North Carolina and Brooklyn combine forces to do great damage. Sean Price takes a relentless approach with his spitting as he maintains an indistinguishable air of authenticity, incorporating 5 Percenter speak along with his thug bravado. He takes pride in not only his lyrical skill, but in seeing just how comically ignorant he can be whilst dismantling competition in his path. When Sean makes the exclamation “I worked so hard to be this stupid”, and comes with lines like “Kneel down kiss the ring/R Kelly your verse when I piss on your 16” and “Dutch in my ear, OE in my palm/I’ll Freddy Krueger your face, Michael Meyer your moms” you have to believe that he means business.
Stumbling moments are few and far in between such as “Church” produced by Tommy Tee which sounds like a Dr. Dre throwaway, all the way down to the Funkadelic inspired hook. The album's major flaw is a technicality, as Sean Price’s topic material is extremely limited resulting in songs that aren’t about much. The only deviation from battle rapping, pistol clapping and drug dealing/usage is the album’s closer “Mess You Made”, breaking down an introspective synopsis of his career and failure to attain mainstream success. The lack of diversity in his raps is more than made up for with well structured conceptual verses, crazy multi-syllabic lines and strong choruses displaying how his partner in crime Rock earned the nickname Captain Hook.
Jesus Price Supastar is a return to form as Sean Price sticks to his guns (no pun intended), doing what he does best. He never disappoints his core audience, those who live for the uncut unpredictability and humorous barbarism which he’s developed a knack for. The BCC legacy will continue to live on that much longer thanks to the God.
The mid-90’s golden age of Hip-Hop is long past us, with only select acts like The Roots, Common, and Nas able to maintain commercial and critical relevance over a decade after their introductions. As the culture took a more commercial turn, the once esteemed Boot Camp Clik was one of many that were counted out for until Heltah Skeltah’s Sean Price rose like a phoenix from the ashes with 2005’s Monkey Barz. With this album he carried the crew on his shoulders, no different from how Ghostface kept the Wu-Tang brand from disintegrating altogether. Once considered the weak half of his group with fans deferring to Rock’s gritty voice, Ruck has proven he can hold his own and then some. Layman proclamations (such as being “the brokest rapper you know”), and standoffish boasts regarding his MC caliber, splashed with the mix of a class clown/hooligan from Brownsville character has made for reality rap at its finest. Jesus Price Supastar is Sean Price’s long awaited sophomore effort, promising an even greater abundance of the ignorance that diehard followers have come to revere.
The bulk of the album’s production is handled by Justus League chieftains 9th Wonder and Khrysis, along with their affiliate 10 for the Triad. From the heavenly “Violence” to the raucous “Hearing Aid”, the aptly titled monstrosity of “King Kong” and the soulful “Let It Be Known” (featuring a stellar guest appearance by Little Brother’s Phonte), North Carolina and Brooklyn combine forces to do great damage. Sean Price takes a relentless approach with his spitting as he maintains an indistinguishable air of authenticity, incorporating 5 Percenter speak along with his thug bravado. He takes pride in not only his lyrical skill, but in seeing just how comically ignorant he can be whilst dismantling competition in his path. When Sean makes the exclamation “I worked so hard to be this stupid”, and comes with lines like “Kneel down kiss the ring/R Kelly your verse when I piss on your 16” and “Dutch in my ear, OE in my palm/I’ll Freddy Krueger your face, Michael Meyer your moms” you have to believe that he means business.
Stumbling moments are few and far in between such as “Church” produced by Tommy Tee which sounds like a Dr. Dre throwaway, all the way down to the Funkadelic inspired hook. The album's major flaw is a technicality, as Sean Price’s topic material is extremely limited resulting in songs that aren’t about much. The only deviation from battle rapping, pistol clapping and drug dealing/usage is the album’s closer “Mess You Made”, breaking down an introspective synopsis of his career and failure to attain mainstream success. The lack of diversity in his raps is more than made up for with well structured conceptual verses, crazy multi-syllabic lines and strong choruses displaying how his partner in crime Rock earned the nickname Captain Hook.
Jesus Price Supastar is a return to form as Sean Price sticks to his guns (no pun intended), doing what he does best. He never disappoints his core audience, those who live for the uncut unpredictability and humorous barbarism which he’s developed a knack for. The BCC legacy will continue to live on that much longer thanks to the God.
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