Review Summary: "Anyone who ain't rappers, lets have a show of hands / Cause there's too many emcees, not enough fans"
The rap industry has been brain washed. Being simultaneously one the most hated and loved genre in the biz, rap is one of the definite genres that can boast millions upon millions of mindless fans whose sole purpose is to line the pockets of already rich ‘thugs’. Sure, a rapper from the mainstream is just as capable of making a catchy beat as the indie but when the emphasis is put on sales figures and not talent, ladies and gentlemen, there is where we a problem. No longer is rap considered a genre in today’s society, now it is more akin to entertainment; prime time TV. Out from the sea of cornyass half-witted rappers, New York hip-hop aficionado PackFM comes to the forefront, putting his own cred at stake, and releasing an album packed to the brim with disgust, self-irony, and more inside jokes than the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, ‘I F*cking Hate Rappers’.
In the graphic novel Watchmen, there’s a particular character called the Comedian. While his antics and behavior were far from hilarious, he represented a side of heroism that PackFM emulates. See, the Comedian was stated to have seen the true face of society, and instead of going Rorschach he decided to become a parody of it, a joke. PackFM has seen the true face of modern mainstream rap and has decided for him to make the ultimate album of irony: a joke. ‘I F*cking Hate Rappers’ can be seen as a two-fold album: while Pack states that this album is not a ‘diss album’, with a name like what it is it is hard to not scratch your head on that thought of such a statement. On the other hand, ‘I F*cking Hate Rappers’ is an existential wakeup call to the rappers out there in the world trying to become the next Drake or the next T.I.
‘I F*cking Hate Rappers’ is not just an album, but it’s a story. Starting off with an AA-esque therapy session, ‘
The Support Group’, followed by the intertwined self-titled song, basically is a statement of grievances that the rap industry has done. PackFM utilizes the common approach that mainstream rappers use in skits, but instead of carelessly thrown in acts that are likely more on a TV audition then an actual contribution to an album, PackFM takes great care in using all of his skits to accentuate the songs of ‘I F*cking Hate Rappers’. ‘
The Kanye Look’ is a gutbuster skit that shows the incredulity that the rap industry has on fashion, whether it’s a lack of a button-up, to tighter jeans, to open-toed Timberlands, PackFM does an outstanding job of bringing irony and awareness in a form so hilarious that it’s easy to miss the whole message of the skit. However, ‘
Flux Capacitor’ is the track that solidifies the ideas by a throwback song, heavily drum-snap and bass heavy; it is a plea for the better days of the eighties, when rap was a battle of true talent.
‘
Take Our Place’ starts to show off the collaborations that PackFM has utilized on this album. Featuring yet another bass heavy track, where the beats seem to be made by an actual drum in a live setting, ‘
Take Our Place’ is an ode to the spirit of true hip-hop with PackFM and rapper Dominion leading the a attack, “Y’all ain’t rappers / Y’all ain’t MC’s / Not even hip-hop / You serious? B*tch please.” It only further accentuate the irony of the rap game. The skit, ‘
Step on My Kicks’, featuring a rap show setting where Pack seems to mistakenly spill his drink on another’s shoes, this leads to a confrontation that perfectly leads to the next song ‘
Tough Talk’. This is probably one of the most well played transitions in the album as it becomes apparent that the instigator of the previous skit, Poison Pen, is now the guest star MC on ‘
Tough Talk’, a battle rap song ending in Poison wanting to collaborate with Pack which, once again, serves as irony in the rap game.
So it seems a bit self-destructive for PackFM to create an album so hateful and hostile towards the very genre that he falls under. This might be so, yet PackFM’s final two tracks reconcile this fact in his final two tracks of ‘
I F*cking Love Everything’ and its ending skit ‘
Closure’. However, ‘
Closure’ only serves to raise more questions as PackFM once again mocks the industry at the end. So while ‘I F*cking Hate Rappers’ might raise more questions when answers them, it is an album that will make one question what it is they truly love about the rap game. It bring laughs, it brings middle-fingers, it’ll attract the haters, and it’ll attract fans who understand what Pack is rapping about.
“Now these 'Lil-Young-Boyz' thinkin' they the f*ckin' man/ They're the reason fans only gave Lupe a chance / Cause they thought "Kick, Push" was the name of a dance”