Review Summary: Promising debut that gave us a glimpse of this duo’s great (lyrical) talents
Starting off as the “Simply II Positive MCs,” Pharoahe Monch and Prince Po thankfully changed their name to Organized Konfusion. The duo’s debut single, the lighthearted “Who Stole My Last Piece Of Chicken?” although good, was not the most accurate representation of Organized Konfusion. That would be resolved with their debut album which would show that there was much more depth to their lyrics.
Prince Po is a very good MC, unfortunately for him, Pharoahe Monch is a lyrical virtuoso and establishes that fact on the first track ‘Fudge Pudge’, which also includes the album’s sole guest appearance, future D.I.T.C. member O.C. Monch’s commanding voice overshadows the other two MCs on this track who are great lyricists in their own right but Monch is simply on another level, he truly sounds like the prototype MC with lyrics like:
I hit the hook HEAVY
Ready no chitter-chatter I figure since I'm bigger why pitter-patter
Pouncing on particular poets who persist to portray professional punks
You're just a pussy [MEOW] cat when I'm decking you
Disrespecting you, clever whenever I select a new dialogue
One plus one get it together
Simply
reading Organized Konfusion’s lyrics however doesn’t even begin to do them justice because of their flow and just the way they effortlessly put words together, this goes for both members although Prince Po’s nondescript voice makes him sound like the lesser of the two. ‘Releasing Hypnotical Gases’ is a mesmerizing, lyrical tour de force as Po and Monch trade verses and then speed up the tempo as well as the beat for the second go around.
The weakness of this album lies in its production, often described as a “darker A Tribe Called Quest”, their jazzy beats simply are not on the level of Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s work and often deaden the impact of Po and Monch’s amazing lyricism. Produced entirely by Organized Konfusion themselves, the beats often do not match the quality of the lyrics, occasionally as on ‘Audience Pleasers’ the jazzy horns and guitars fit the track perfectly, not to mention the memorable hook sung by Po and Monch.
Organized Konfusion is a hit-and-miss album, starting off very strong but fading towards the second half. After the outstanding ‘Audience Pleasers’, there is a considerable drop-off and at a running time of nearly one hour, there isn’t enough going on to hold the listener’s interest. Po and Monch are lyrical revelations (Monch more so) on their debut but they didn’t quite put everything together on this album.
Recommended Tracks:
Releasing Hypnotical Gases
Fudge Pudge
Audience Pleasers
