But you remember that Atmosphere album You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having? OK, good– now imagine the exact opposite sentiment. I have no idea what put these guys in such a sourpuss mode, but the celebratory “we the best” boasting of “Protagonists” proves to be a red herring instead of a mood setter. The rest of the way we get to hear Murs and Slug swap out the kickin’ back at the BBQ vibe of their previous releases and go off on so many archetypes\/strawmen you wonder if they even think they have fans. Either way, it gets to be awfully oppressive over the span of Rosie Perez’s hourlong runtime for anyone other than the most insatiable consumers of complaint rap.<\/p>\n
Hipsters, critics, “internet rappers,” rappers who rap about violence (“Deathmurdermayhem”) all get dealt with, but in a manner so vague that their dismissals become toothless. Come on, I’m wearing a cardigan as I type this review– work with it! Instead they save specificity for tracks boasting the concerned but condescending attitudes towards women I expect from a Taking Back Sunday album. It’s one thing to lack sympathy, but Slug and Murs crucially forgo empathy too often, and their subjects come off like set pieces rather than real people– oddly enough, the fantastical fairy tale character portrait of “Henrietta Longbottom” comes off like the most intensely written song on the whole thing.
\nP\u00e9rez started her career in the late 1980s as a dancer on Soul Train and has choreographed music videos by Janet Jackson, Bobby Brown, Diana Ross, LL Cool J and The Boys. She was the choreographer for the dancing group the Fly Girls who were featured on every performance of In Living Color. She was noticed in a dance club by Spike Lee in 1989, who hired her for her first major acting role in Do the Right Thing.<\/p>\n