Album: KRS One - Adventures In Emceein’

The Teacha, The Philosopher, The Blastmaster… monikers and aliases usually mean nothing in Hip Hop unless you are referring to a true, true legend. Such is KRS-One, the man who has been blessing the mic for 25 years now, spreading knowledge of many aspects of society, religion, politics and, of course, Hip Hop. Still going strong after a quarter of a century, his latest effort Adventures In Emceein’ is all done in true KRS-style, reminding us all that this is what Hip Hop is supposed to sound like.

Several guests appear on this album including fellow Hip Hop legends Rakim, Chuck D, MC Lyte and Nas. And each serves their purpose to make this effort the epitome of Hip Hop, especially MC Lyte on Money. On this track KRS and Lyte explore the dynamics of wealth and materialism which are ultimately summarized by one of KRS’ lines - “You got to get money/But don’t let money get you by”. Lyte especially shines here, as she performs in spoken word rather than rap, which makes this track not only powerful and overflowing with knowledge and wisdom, but also creativity. The Teacha Returns is an example of a cut which is absolutely dripping with raw lyricism, raw delivery, everything just raw! In addition, KRS pays homage to passed-on artists – “You trifle; triflin’, you need to stop and listen/You need to hear Tupac, when he was locked in prison.” The production by Bam Beats consists of a powerful violin melody, which just burns with the fire that this dragon spits.

The only real let-down of this album is each track’s length … none surpassing 3 minutes 43 seconds, which is a shame because we could’ve really done with one more verse on some of these songs. Yet, 20 tracks on an album is a rare treat nowadays, even if they are short. Also, some of the appearances by the legends are only in the intro, such as Rakim and Nas, but also the track with Chuck D (Today’s Topics) is only 53 seconds with one verse each, but come on…these two kings coming together should be able to drop a minimum 4-minute cut easily. The entire potential is just not being given to us.

This album is packed with everything you seek in a KRS-One album – raw, passionate delivery, an arsenal of intelligently diverse lyrics, and all over raw beats suited to KRS’ style, blending old school and new school underground, with dashes of mainstream which KRS really flips the script on and shows that production does NOT make a track, contrary to so many simple-minded beliefs. Some beats could have been slightly improved, but more so the length and minor appearances of Rakim, Chuck D and Nas could have been remedied. Yet, this is a KRS-One album in its truest – an epic adventure in emceein’.

Available through Echo-Vista Group/Koch Records