Two things struck me immediately upon first listen to Prince Po’ new long player “Prettyblack”. Lyrically, themes run along his reminiscing over the good old days (circa 1992 in this case) and the beef he feels for the haters who question his motives and movements since the days spent in influential (and undervalued) duo Organized Konfusion. There is a celebratory theme as well, focusing on the colour black and questioning the negatives that accompany the hue as an abstract and as a race.
Secondly, was that this album lacked a little something, especially during the middle section where the production becomes staid and uninspiring. Starting strong and finishing even stronger, the recording is bringing 90′ hip hop aesthetics into the modern era of production, and with heavyweights such as Madlib, Ammon Contact and Large Professor onboard it should have been a stronger listen. I found it only truly rewarding when listened to through headphones, as there are some nice layers to be heard in the sometimes thick stew of the production. However, it lacks the funk at times and had me hitting the skip button more than I would normally wish to.
Po’ gruff voice is immediately arresting on the album’ opening tunes, but further on, the vocal stylings seem to meander into uninspiring territory, not taking the listener to anywhere new or dynamic. The album’ later tribute track to J.Dilla, “U Right Hear†is a lush and a fitting homage to the recently passed master’ sound, and closing track “The City Sleeps†has the finesse I would have been happy to hear throughout. All in all, not a terrible album, but like his previous patchy release on Lex, “The Slicknessâ€, not one that I feel deserves a spot on your favourite hip hop playlist.
