Saul Williams

Dear Hip Hoppers,
How goes it? I hope you find yourselves well and not getting sucked into this world of fashioned hip hop. Come on, you actually think you are listening to music that verbalizes reality? Are you seriously going to listen to every word that comes out of Kayne West’s mouth because he won a Grammy? Does that make him a political genius? Opinionated is not a synonym for intelligence. Are you going to question our foreign policy, or just disagree with it because some rapper preaches that Bush is the Anti-Christ? You know what; you are just as pathetic as those 12 year old Green Day “punks” that scream anarchy even though that can’t spell it. Underground hip hop has lost its edge. Mos Def nor Talib Kweli do it for me anymore. Hip hop used to have something special. While the world was experiencing the wonders of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Hip Hoppers were getting down with the likes of De La Soul and Tribe Called Quest. Now in this rap world of 50 Cent and god knows who else, the commercially raped genre leaves little left for us hip hoppers to enjoy. Until now. The spoken word of Saul Williams will have you bleeding individualism whilst enjoying some of the most sincere lyrics I’ve heard in quite some time. What makes Williams so great is that his opinion is not being beat into your head. All Saul Williams wants is for his words to be heard. He doesn't preach to the listener, he merely wants his ideas to be noticed. What makes this album hard to listen to is the obscure beats and noises he sets his words to. Now this will be hard for some of you to swallow. It is not an effortless listen, you will have to check the lyrics to truly get the message as it is sometimes tough to make some of the words out. Once you do, however, you will be taken back at his explosive words. You have to be open minded and patient to really get the feel for this album. If you are both of these, then I dare you to listen to Saul Williams. You will not be disappointed.

Yours in song,
David Taggerty