{grate 4.5} For the past year Guilty Simpson has been warning us that
his Stones Throw debut, Ode to the Ghetto, would be more than just a collection
of MC braggadocio and hard raps; instead it would deliver a more complex and fleshed-out
idea of who the rapper is. Usually the response to a rapper claiming to have a
well-rounded album is extreme skepticism, but after a few listens to the LP,
Guilty proved to be good on his word.
whole has been not-so-quietly running shit in hip-hop for the last few years
and Guilty’s LP is in line to keep that going. The album’s best quality is that
while Guilty explores different themes and topics than what he’s been known for
in the past, he never seems to stretch himself too thin.
He is as comfortable letting you know how he’d rob you in
the aptly titled “Robbery,” as he is when he’s speaking of police brutality in
“Pigs” or crazy girlfriends in “I Must Love You.” Guilt’s methodical flow is on
point all through the LP and the production follows suit.
His
family is very visible as Black Milk and Mr. Porter are featured on almost half
the album. Madlib and Oh No also have some crazy beats that suit Guilty,
especially Oh No’s “Footwork.”
The one gripe people are bound to have with the album: the
lack of Dilla beats. There is only one Dilla track on the album, but Guilty
addressed this issue and mentioned that those tracks will surface in one way or
another eventually.
Nitpicking aside, the album is banging — simple as that. Guilty
is fun as hell to listen to and the album is a doper debut than most get, and
since first impressions are everything in the fickle collective memory of
hip-hop, Guilty is sure to make a lasting one.
is definitely in the building.
