Prince Paul
A Prince Among Thieves
(Tommy Boy)
The problem of narratives in rock and roll
is that the music has to conform to a storyline and suffers as a result, and rock and roll is a
poor forum for telling a full-length tale. Sometimes the story is told in the liner notes,
but rock opera has to be one of the sillier ideas that any talented rocker ever dreamed up.
Hip-hop and narrative is another matter. With the lyrics up front and often spoken, hip-hop can
spin its
story without sacrificing a thing. Unfortunately, Prince Paul
decided that
his narrative needed clarity with radio theater
in between the songs, an idea that only
slows down the record.
Once you've heard the story all you will want to hear again is the
music, and the urban morality tale unfolds just fine in the
songs alone. The musical
backing is cinematic, the musical characters
(Big Daddy Kane, Everlast, and Breeze among
them) come alive,
and Prince Paul is one amazing conductor.
Rating: 8
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