Review Summary: The first full-length Anticon compilation, with the goal of trying to spawn "advanced" hip hop, proves to be an entertaining effort.
“What is poetry?”
This is asked within the first eight seconds of “Propaganda,” the intro on this album... appropriate question to be raised concerning Anticon’s collective release, especially having the goal of advancing hip hop. The ever-eccentric label out of LA created their first true compilation here, featuring a veritable cornucopia of bizarre MC’s and DJ's. Being the absolute antithesis to anything mainstream or popular, I feared that the Anticon crew would sound TOO pretentious to produce a great album. I was mostly wrong, and thank God for that.
Mainly produced by 1200 Hobos members Signify and Mayonnaise, “Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop” starts with an old-school display of turntablism. These DJ interludes reappear throughout the album, and range from enjoyable to merely skip-worthy. Some do segue nicely into actual songs, but that’s about it. The DJ’s do, however, produce a number of songs on this album, with Sixtoo, Jel, Moodswing9, and Mr. Skurge. All of the instrumentals here are enjoyable earworms; I can hear many cymbal riffs, ethereal sounds, guitar loops, and horns that signify (no pun intended) live instrumentation. Nearly every beat fits the overall mood of the lyrics.
In terms of rapping, two of the album’s standouts aren’t even signed to Anticon. Eyedea and Slug, both of Rhymesayers, deliver wherever they appear. In fact, I consider Eyedea’s verse on “Savior?” to be one of the best on this entire project, in which he admonishes mankind and hopes for his fellow “aliens” to liberate him from the evils of Earth:
“They blame the violence on children and try to forget they raised 'em
Jerry Springer and Banned From TV is what they get paid from
Man, I hate them homosapiens, they're a little too complex
Survival instincts are blocked for the biggest cock contest
Man, please come get me, the ***'s sickening
Man, I can't stand it
I wanna break the ozone and go home to my own planet
This panic, I'm stranded, goddamnit I'm damaged, my sanity's bandaged
Ever since I landed I've been abandoned and planned to run
I ran and managed to reach peace for a day or two
But it's probably government computer chips that make me think the way I do”
Elsewhere, Alias takes center stage on perhaps the most interesting track on MftAoHH, “Divine Disappointment,” where Alias raps in the perspective of a God pissed off at his creations expecting Him to save them when even He can’t. The ways that Alias declares that “I have nothing for you after death” and “I can’t control destiny” make this an amazing track. Other songs like “Nothing but Sunshine,” “Martyr Theme Song,” “It’s Them,” and “Simulated Snow” elevate this album as well. In terms of negatives, there are only a few to list in this review. Sole performs well enough on ”Human Races the Tortoise” but Doseone definitely weighs him down there because of his grating delivery (in stark contrast to the stellar “It’s Them”). Plus, “Holy ***!” loses its flair after a few listens (Sole and Buck 65 still rock).
Really, the only major flaw here is saying that this album “advances” hip hop. Probably not. It’s not the most innovative/Dadaist/alternative thing to have ever been released, so the title seems a tad pretentious. But before the Anticon fans crucify me for that statement, “Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop” still makes a great listen. It’s not the weirdest project to be conceived by this label, so it’s more accessible to casual rap fans. I highly recommend this to anyone into rap music, and along with Deep Puddle Dynamics’ debut, is the best way to immerse oneself into the extremely unique Anticon discography.
