Rhymefest: Blue Collar

Blue Collar Rhymefest Date: 2006-07-11   —   DVD / VHS product page Rating:

This might be the best new rap album I heard last year. 



Granted, I haven't yet listened to Fishscale by Ghostface yet, but I will in the next few days.  Anyway, we're here to talk about Rhymefest.  He is a Kanye West/No I.D protege hailing from Chigago; like Common and Kanye, he reps and props the Midwest as much as possible.  He reminds me of Obie Trice in that his image is that of a blue collar, normal guy on the grind - hence the name of the album.  Thankfully, Kanye's mentor No I.D., as well as Just Blaze and Cool & Dre, temper Kanye's more by-the-numbers production templates; this results in a unique and refreshing sound for Rhymefest's debut.   One of the more effective efforts is a somewhat blatant sample of "Someday" by the Strokes -- the track actually starts off by playing about 10 seconds of the Strokes song, then segues into the Rhymefest song "Devil's Pie".  Surprisingly, it really works and "Pie" stands out as a particularly good tune. 



There's a major difference between him and Obie, though: Rhymefest is a much, much better rapper.  After all, this is the guy who beat Eminem in a rap battle at Scribble Jam '97. 



Not that Obie is bad - not at all.  I love Obie, and his new album (which I'll review soon) is very good also.  But this album is fantastic.  Even Rhymefest's so-called bad, pop-rap songs ("Fever") are very good.  He of course is conflicted, portraying the swagger and materialism of someone who isn't quite so down-to-earth, but he does make a pronounced effort to distance himself from the dealing and gangbanging culture.



The album starts strong with "Dynomite" and "Brand New"; other highlights include the aforementioned "Devil's Pie", "More", "Sister", the Ying Yang Twins-inspired "Stick", and "Bullet."  Lyrically, Rhymefest seems equally comfortable being a braggadocious celebrity and a humble storyteller.  On top of all the strong tracks, the last song on the album ("Build Me Up") is a blatant sample of "Build Me Up (Buttercup)"...with a posthumous cameo by Ol' Dirty Bastard singing the refrain (made famous by There's Something About Mary's closing credits).  Itt's great to hear ODB's voice again, and the track had me laughing out loud. 



There aren't many weak moments on this debut, and those that are a bit subpar are easily ignored thanks to the vast majority of the rest.  Aside from the Game's Documentary, Blue Collar is about as good as a debut gets.

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