Celebrated New Yorkers M. Sayyid, Beans, Priest, and Earl Blaize bring their unique take on hip-hop to the world with this intensely challenging debut album. As part of the "progressive" hip-hop scene (which also includes ... more »the likes of Anticon, Shapeshifters, Mike Ladd, Project Blowed, and Celestial Records), Anti-Pop specializes in countering the formulas and fronts which keep much of today's hip-hop romanticizing in neutral. Producer Blaize's beats thunder and plod along efficiently, treading a fickle line between rhythm and chaos. Heavy on repetition and bleeding with distortion, Blaize crafts an interesting soundscape that lyricists Sayyid, Beans, and Priest use to play with words. Sci-fi rhymes and free-think flows are delivered with an almost pretentious cool. Their lyrical darts target the usual suspects: jigginess and materialism. With often unwieldy, sometimes ambivalent flows and meandering beats, Anti-Pop live up to their name and then some. --Hua Hsu« less
Celebrated New Yorkers M. Sayyid, Beans, Priest, and Earl Blaize bring their unique take on hip-hop to the world with this intensely challenging debut album. As part of the "progressive" hip-hop scene (which also includes the likes of Anticon, Shapeshifters, Mike Ladd, Project Blowed, and Celestial Records), Anti-Pop specializes in countering the formulas and fronts which keep much of today's hip-hop romanticizing in neutral. Producer Blaize's beats thunder and plod along efficiently, treading a fickle line between rhythm and chaos. Heavy on repetition and bleeding with distortion, Blaize crafts an interesting soundscape that lyricists Sayyid, Beans, and Priest use to play with words. Sci-fi rhymes and free-think flows are delivered with an almost pretentious cool. Their lyrical darts target the usual suspects: jigginess and materialism. With often unwieldy, sometimes ambivalent flows and meandering beats, Anti-Pop live up to their name and then some. --Hua Hsu
CD Reviews
I'm Still Speechless...........
ridilin007 | Tampa, Fl. | 08/30/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"How can I put this, basically one of the greatest music albums I've ever heard, the production ranges from pure hiphop to abstract hiphop to electronic to pure originality. Lyrically I think Priest is the strongest one, but the other two songwriters are just as capable of writing an amazing verse, basically this album needs to be heard several times to fully understand where these artist are going. Honestly this is another example of why hiphop can be considered real music and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys alot of creativity and challengeing material, peace."
Just waiting for the follow-up...
Recury | Florida, USA | 08/25/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Sometimes the choruses get a bit annoying (like on "Your World Is Flat"), but when everything else is good, you get over it real quick. Some of the best and most original rhymes you'll hear anywhere are on this album - probably since not many other rappers have the vocabulary to drop "art deco" or "umbilical" on any of their records. Earl Blaize's production skills are evident throughout the album, but especially when the beats of "PSA2" blend perfectly into "9.99"'s piano loop. "What Am I?" "Laundry," and "Nude Paper" are even better. A future classic."
Triumphant dialogue
0=0 | Earth | 02/23/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is the album that resparked my interest in hip hop again, big time. The triple tag team rap attack of the sickeningly skilled M. Sayyid, Beans, and High Priest, along with the deep, dark, and at times almost sub-aquatic production is like nothing put to disc before or after. I would go as far as to call this album a landmark release, legendary even. It's not too abstract to listen to and it's not predictable mainstream garbage. Hearing these three power-packed and very different rapping styles from quite possibly the greatest MCs alive, weaving gritty tales of urban paranoia and painting vivid verbal dreamscapes that would make Dali blush simply blows my mind to pieces. How anyone can find this boring or flat is beyond me. You're either jealous or braindead if this stuff don't do it for ya. For my money, this, "The Tragic Epilogue" is the best rap recording of all time. APC is dead, long live APC."
Ozone strikes again
David W. Henzie-skogen | State of Cheese | 05/23/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Anybody who's a follower of the East Coast underground knows that Ozone can't miss, and once again they brought it."
Track Listings (19) - Disc #1