Propaganda – Excellent
Humble Beast
September 25, 2012

This is by far the toughest review to write out of the mix, because I’m completely uncultured in this genre.  Sure, it’s hip-hop, but it’s more than that.  From what I can gather, Propaganda is primarily a spoken word poet, and he weaves his words together so effortlessly, we might as well be listening to Moses speaking from the mountaintop.  This man has conviction in his heart, and few records demand this type of attention – I believe he’s confident of every word that comes out of his mouth.

From a musical standpoint, if you’re looking for beats, you’re coming to the wrong place.  This isn’t about samples.  This isn’t about a hook.  You’ve got everything from Spanish guitar licks to cellos; from stomps to flutes – it’s simply magical.  At the end of it all though, this is about a man speaking from his heart who has a purpose to serve.  To complicate matters even more, I’m not even sure how well I would get along with this guy in real life.  For me, on a personal level, he’s too elaborate.  He’s almost too vulnerable even for someone like me, which is certainly saying something.  He comes across as overly arty; someone who could look at a painting of a gentleman in a top hat that someone has thrown a can of green paint over, and find some deep, theological, universe-expanding meaning behind it.  That kind of mindset – it’s not for me.

So, as I said, I don’t know if I’d enjoy hanging out with him on my day off, but in that exact same breath, I am so insanely appreciate of the record that he has created.  It’s the beauty of diversity.  It’s the human experience.  Let the arm be the arm and the foot be the foot.  This man knows his place.

7.5/10

If you had to listen to two tracks:  Excellent / Redefine Cutter