New PRT

[Gregory V. Battle]

The new Poor Righteous Teachers album entitled _Pure_Poverty_ is now
out. No doubt, these brothers are putting New Jerusalem (NJ) on the
map. Don't sleep on these guys, the only 5%ers who are truly righteous:
meaning they RESPECT WOMEN and CONDEMN DRUGS. And Wise Intelligent can
rap and dub his black ass off. Nuff said. PAZ

G-BAttle

[Gregory V. Battle]

As long as I have some time, I'll give a little rundown on the rekkid :)

"Shakiyla (JRH)" NOT A LOVE SONG like the song of the same title on the
first album (a song which was not up to par, by many's standards).
Anyway, they make up for it with this version, stricly ghetto. In fact,
every song is very ghetto on the album. By "ghetto", I mean really
brooding with a deep groove. Mostly minor keys (if it matters :).
The lyrics are all about respecting black women, something anyone can
understand.
"They often disrespect [the black woman] when they find cannot sex
you"

"Easy Star" An excellent example of how to mix dub-style reggae and
rap. Wise sings the raps, in key, without losing any flavor. In fact,
the tonality just makes his rhymes flow freer. I sweat his rap style
because even on slow tracks, the brother can flow very intricately. A
couple rasta dub on this track in between verses but they aren't that
good.

"Self Styled Wisdom" The beat is extremely familiar, it's the same one
as "Rock this Funky Joint", but it's a little different. The rhyme is
complete freestyle, giving Wise room to breathe. A nice sequel,
although it won't become as popular as the original.

"Stricly Mash-ion" Dope. An empty groove with a DJed chorus. From
what I heard from Tony D (the album's producer), he thought this one
could become a hit. Maybe, but I don't think so.

"Methods of Dropping Mental" This is the hit track on the album if
there is one. It begins to sound really corny on the intro, but the
main groove is slammin'. I likes, I likes......

"Each one Teach One" My favorite track. The chorus is diggy-dope, a
mix of a Tribe CAlled Quest sample with Soul II Soul on top (and in key
too, hey :). A slick use of bible quotation on the track ("Wool hair,
full lips, and brown skin", a biblic description of Jesus and PRT's,
as well as many blacks, reasoning that Jesus was black).

And the tracks go on with titles like "Just Serving Justice" and "The
Nations Anthem". I don't have the rekkid in front of me so I
couldn't quote any rhymes. If you like knowledge filled lyrics, on the
black righteous tip, with deep backing grooves, reggae verbal-stylings,
and can stand/ignore/embrace a 5%er tinge (OK, OK, more than a tinge!
:), get the album. Basically, if you like KRS-1, Brand Nubian, X-Clan,
and Shabba Ranks, vic this CD at your local rekkid store. Paz.

G-BAttle