Jesus Price Supastar [PA] (CD - 2007)

Duck Down Records continues to affirm its supremacy as the dominant label in the New York underground with another tight album from one of its favorite sons, Sean Price. On his sophomore solo release, the grandiosely titled JESUS PRICE SUPASTAR, Ruck dazzles listeners with his magnum force, rapid fire rhymes, and straight-forward mic command. Much of this set's greatness is owed to the strong production contribution from beat wizard 9th Wonder--whose unlikely alliance with Duck Down continues to bear strange fruit. Ruck puts it best over the dreamy track, "Violent"--"The beat is smooth/The rap is hard/Just the way I like it/Bless the mic with the god." Supplementary beatwork comes courtesy of PF Cuttin, Tommy Tee, Ill Mind, MOSS, and Khrysis; and Sean P gets nice guest verses from fellow Boot Camp affiliates, as well as Sadat X, Chaundon, Phonte, and Block McCloud.

Sean Price is one lyrical maverick. He doesn't have the zeal of a conscious rapper, nor does he wholly embrace the nihilism of gangsta rap, but he can be clever, thuggish, witty, and threatening without sounding contradictory. In other words, he's just himself. These traits, which facilitated his transition from being that other guy in Heltah Skeltah to Boot Camp Clik's lead MC, placed his solo debut Monkey Barz (2005) on several year-end lists for best underground rap album. For his sophomore effort, Jesus Price Supastar, all of his wit is still intact. Actually, the Brooklyn MC turns up the furnace a bit with his rhymes, sporting an outlandish braggadocio that incorporates a touch of religious blasphemy (read: stupid but hilarious references to God or Jesus). Entertaining many times over, he is completely off-the-wall yet still gutter-mouthed. He opens "Cardiac" with "the first verse is the worst/like why the f*ck they call you Jesus Price, ni**a, when you curse in church." On tracks "Stop," "Violent," and "Mess You Made," he comes off like somewhat of a street guidance counselor, and a very candid one at that, and this will probably be the closest he'll ever get to being "conscious." But in case you forgot the type of man Price is, just hear him flex lyrical muscle over the rhythmic bassline of "Da God" ("Don't try to get deep with the God/Don't try to conversate and hold hands down the street with the God") or spit not-so-subtle rhymes on "P-Body" ("Ni**a, kneel down, kiss the ring/R. Kelly a verse when I piss on your 16"). With several more productions coming from Justus League beatsmiths 9th Wonder and Khrysis, Price is able to pull this album together a little more tightly than he did with Monkey Barz. Truthfully speaking though, this LP could easily have been called Even More Monkey Barz, but there are too many worthwhile moments to consider this anything short of first-rate Sean Price material. ~ Cyril Cordor minimize