KRS-One & True Master
Meta-Historical

Written by Dominick. Published: Monday, September 27, 2010.

The coming together of great minds should always be celebrated and perhaps more importantly, scrutinized. Especially when the two minds that are going to be united are widely considered top notch in their craft. In this particular lane the two minds I speak of are none other than Hip-Hop’s greatest teacher and the 2nd most worthy producer out of arguably rap’s most prolific crew…KRS-One and True Master respectively. Merging their distinctive styles for a whole album titled Meta-Historical, those who pay attention will receive a highly enjoyable lesson, while those who don’t will get more of the same from their rap albums.

Striking you right away with an interlude of knowledge and truth KRS drops a talkative intro that explores his identity within the context of the game. His words ring stingingly true as he takes you into the first song. Get used to this formula (interlude then song) as well, being that it appears throughout the entire album…a fact that definitely makes the 20 song track listing seem a lil’ misleading. Still, when the man handling the 10 knowledge fueled, oratory interludes is someone like Kris, well, you tend to overlook it for the simple fact that he is kickin profound knowledge in ya ear. LOL, on the other hand, titling the interludes as if they were songs does sort of seem like KRS and True were leading us in a certain direction. I digress…

KRS finds his stride early and often on Meta-Historical, proving that his age of 45 years old isn’t something that holds him back. A fact you should’ve already been aware of. The Teacher dazzles early with reflective and truth-seeking joints like “Unified Field”, and also gives the kids a bit of a crash course in molecular perception simultaneously. True Master’s production is a better fit than I thought it would be overall too. He brings out the gritty, sample based gems that without difficulty sound much like joints that one of the clansmen perhaps could’ve turned away…and that’s a constructive observation. “Knowledge Reigns Supreme” is another interesting listen when KRS’s sermon-like delivery collides with the Shaolin stylings of True Masters’ production in a upbeat manner.

“Palm And Fist” was another absorbing meshing of KRS’s un-yielding lyrical assault and True Master’s entrancing sound claves…many will undoubtedly point to it as the zenith on Meta-Historical and I would be remiss to deny that. Amongst all of the aural might that is “Palm And Fist” though, the subtle sturdiness of the Rza assisted “1,2, Here’s What We’re Gonna Do” and the title track are highly discernable as well. I will partially concede that some will definitely feel like the album is overrun with interludes, particularly those who aren’t so keen on KRS’s niche for public speaking and general wisdom/opinion purveying.

Personally I like the layout of the album immensely, but would be frontin something serious if I didn’t say after the 3rd time bumpin’ it I wasn’t pressing the track skip button on the majority of the interludes. Despite that, one of the most distinct intervals I found on Meta-Historical that never warranted being disregarded would have to be “Naga”, an honest, yet somewhat unblunted examination of the use of the “N” word through Kris’s speculative lens. Still not shying away from the tough topics KRS might have been better served to work that into an actual song, but we’ll take what we can get right?

For all of the clearly thoughtful theme’s and KRS’s seemingly ageless flow, there are still some inescapable weaker points. Not every hook is as polished as it could have been and while True Master’s production is leaps and bounds ahead of most of his contemporaries, it didn’t vary a great deal as the album progressed. Also, if you’re a Wu fan that was looking for a heap of collab’s from any of the clansmen, don’t hold ya breathe, only The Rza and Cappadonna manage to make it through (despite the fact that Rae is doing songs with, like, everyone) to rock with their longtime in-house producer on his first official release with a Hip-Hop icon. Yes, that was just some bitterness you detected in that last sentence.

Meta-Historical provides a lot of things. If your seeking a dose of unabridged knowledge set to some aptly constructed boom bap with plenty of mini-lectures about relevant topics, by all means pick this up. On the other hand, if your someone who sort of struggles to follow along with your music and isn’t interested in dissecting challenging lyrics, maybe you won’t be as struck with this collaboration effort. It’s not a “classic” album, but it’s a memorable alliance that has been formed by KRS and one of the more under noted producers within Hip-Hop. In a general way, I kind of believe this album was crafted more so with an older, more refined Hip-Hopper in mind, rather than just your average, run of the mill new jack who isn’t so much concerned with what “Old School Hip-Hop” is all about as he is with…whatever…In summation, scholarly heads check in, this is your kinda album, Wu heads maybe make some plans to grab it if it’s a lean release year for the Clan and totally ignorant dummies who have the attention span of a 2nd grader avoid “Meta-Historical” in the same fashion you do books, logical reasoning or gaining knowledge of self.

$14.75 out of $20.00

-Dominick “BIG D O” Ledezma

Category: Reviews