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REVIEW:
Overall Rating:
  
Lyrics:
Beats:
Written By: William E. Ketchum
III [www.allhiphop.com]
Hip-hop and politics have a love-hate relationship. While
many of the originators used the music as a platform to
protest against the injustices and unfortunate circumstances
created or neglected by the justice system, artists today
incorporate social messages in their lyrics to little
fanfare. While Nas and up-and-coming Just Blaze signee
Saigon prove there are exceptions to the rule, the lack of
A-List association with politically-minded MCs generally
leaves room for weak production, causing their music to be
ignored. With their self-titled debut, The Black Market
Militia (Nature Sounds)—an all-star lineup that consists of
Tragedy Khadafi, Wu-Tang affiliates Killah Priest, TimboKing
and Hellrazah, and newcomer William Cooper—present political
rap that bangs.
This group of MCs isn’t running voter registration campaigns
or implementing filibusters. Killah Priest’s “four rules for
the hood” on the album’s opener “Thug Nation,” Hellrazah’s
call to arms on “Mayday!,” and hooks like “Back down
soldiers, we blow gats/Military thoughts, we attack like
silverbacks” show that they oppose the machine altogether,
taking a militant approach that rivals their Black Panther
predecessors. dead prez join in with Khadafi and Priest on
“Audobon Ballroom” to induce a political rap wet dream,
complete with a snippet of a speech by Malcolm X preceding
the verses. These views aren’t random gripes though;
everyone here is well-read, as Khadafi lists influential
volumes in “Dead Street Scrolls” and Hellrazah and Killah
Priest cite biblical references in “Paintbrush.” Even
historic musician/playwright/social commentator Oscar Brown
Jr. and Abiodun Oyemole of the Last Poets stop by to
contribute. Black Market Militia shows that they aren’t
alone in their mission, and they urge anyone willing to come
along.
Black Market Militia also has an undeniable chemistry that’s
rare in group projects. The majority of the production is
decidedly grim and murky, tying in with the dark lyricism
that saturates the LP. There are still a few surprises
though: while the eerie hums and keys of “The Final Call”
and the foreboding violins of “Black Market” invoke haunted
house images, the catchy drums and guitar plucks of “The
Struggle” induce head nods, the aforementioned “Dead Street
Scrolls” dazzles with its multi-layered complexity, and
“Hood Lullaby” meshes Indian flutes and strings with
stuttering drums. The social ramblings and spiritual
teachings are well-balanced with the gangsterisms, wordplay
and imagery that many listeners are accustomed to, so the
album shouldn’t overbear anyone willing to give it a fair
listen.
The disk’s coherence is its only potential downfall. With
all of the MCs’ similar voices and patented chemistry as a
unit, only die-hards will successfully distinguish each of
the five lyricists apart from each other, which may defeat
the purpose of a supergroup to many listeners. But that
doesn’t seem like the purpose here. Instead of a resume
builder or opportunity to outshine others, Black Market
Militia resembles the Detroit Pistons with their
unselfishness and role-playing to establish a quality final
product; and at this rate, the political rap title is in
safe hands.
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