Escape 2 Mars is a curious album from Blackalicious front man Gift of Gab.
Redeemed by stand out track ‘Richman, Poorman’, it covers a broad spectrum of issues from a variety of innovative angles. It is definitely influenced by the gangster culture from which it has emerged, but it marks a clear move into a different realm of rap music, combining electronica with more traditional beats to deliver a broadly ecological message.
Whereas De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising managed to maintain a light and fun mood throughout, Gift of Gab achieves this only in patches. In fact, the highlights of this album are not about the environment at all, but are instead warm and broad hearted takes on the rich canopy of human existence, as witnessed in ‘Richman, Poorman’, which is an intelligent and life-affirming song, as is ‘Some Of The People’.
From the light and breezy opener we quickly sink into more conventional gangsta raps, though the beats remain undeniably funky. On ‘Lightyears’ we realise that talking about chakras and auras doesn’t make you spiritual if it is interspersed with verses about gangstas and killing people, and P-funk may be labouriously quoted but this still remains light years away from anything in Parliament’s oeuvre! This small section of acute social commentary makes you long for more of this gritty realism.
The skit too is weak and uninspiring. In fact, Gift of Gab is much better when he is just doing his thing and isn’t trying to reference it in any form of “hip hop culture”. On final track ‘Rhyme Travel’ he speaks of doing things “my way” and it really makes sense: you can see his struggle to make this journey - it is such a breakthrough on title track ‘Escape 2 Mars’ just to hear him spit out the words “mother nature”.
You can say that it is refreshing to hear a lyricist rhyming about the ecology, which is true, but it has to be done well. Tracks such as ‘Escape 2 Mars’ and ’Electronic Waterfalls’ have an explicit ecological theme, and yet still fail to convince, as if following a trend rather than a vision. Super-quick delivery about the state of the environment and global warming is just describing a catastrophe if it offers no solution, and this doesn’t manage to inspire.
Likewise, slipping into more club-based electronica on ‘Dreamin’ fails to excite, and somehow all the references to energy, temples of infinity, and everyone being connected to one common aim and purpose, just doesn’t quite ring true.
In fact, it is only towards the end of the album that Gift of Gab really settles down, relaxes, and as he says, has fun and does things “his way”.
[etRating value=“ 3”]
Redeemed by stand out track ‘Richman, Poorman’, it covers a broad spectrum of issues from a variety of innovative angles. It is definitely influenced by the gangster culture from which it has emerged, but it marks a clear move into a different realm of rap music, combining electronica with more traditional beats to deliver a broadly ecological message.
Whereas De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising managed to maintain a light and fun mood throughout, Gift of Gab achieves this only in patches. In fact, the highlights of this album are not about the environment at all, but are instead warm and broad hearted takes on the rich canopy of human existence, as witnessed in ‘Richman, Poorman’, which is an intelligent and life-affirming song, as is ‘Some Of The People’.
From the light and breezy opener we quickly sink into more conventional gangsta raps, though the beats remain undeniably funky. On ‘Lightyears’ we realise that talking about chakras and auras doesn’t make you spiritual if it is interspersed with verses about gangstas and killing people, and P-funk may be labouriously quoted but this still remains light years away from anything in Parliament’s oeuvre! This small section of acute social commentary makes you long for more of this gritty realism.
The skit too is weak and uninspiring. In fact, Gift of Gab is much better when he is just doing his thing and isn’t trying to reference it in any form of “hip hop culture”. On final track ‘Rhyme Travel’ he speaks of doing things “my way” and it really makes sense: you can see his struggle to make this journey - it is such a breakthrough on title track ‘Escape 2 Mars’ just to hear him spit out the words “mother nature”.
You can say that it is refreshing to hear a lyricist rhyming about the ecology, which is true, but it has to be done well. Tracks such as ‘Escape 2 Mars’ and ’Electronic Waterfalls’ have an explicit ecological theme, and yet still fail to convince, as if following a trend rather than a vision. Super-quick delivery about the state of the environment and global warming is just describing a catastrophe if it offers no solution, and this doesn’t manage to inspire.
Likewise, slipping into more club-based electronica on ‘Dreamin’ fails to excite, and somehow all the references to energy, temples of infinity, and everyone being connected to one common aim and purpose, just doesn’t quite ring true.
In fact, it is only towards the end of the album that Gift of Gab really settles down, relaxes, and as he says, has fun and does things “his way”.
[etRating value=“ 3”]
