Album respects King of Pop
With the deluxe re-release of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” taking up headlines this week in the music world, I decided to take a trip back to 1986 and revisit the King of Pop’s back catalogue. Strange and cringe-inducing Jackson’s mangled visage may be, but he did know how to sell a record or two. Even his early ’90s output, like “Man in the Mirror” and his song from “Free Willy,” hold up surprisingly well. Since Jackson’s self imposed semi-exile of the past few years, there has been a groundswell of support for his earlier work, with R&B singers and even rappers singing his praises.
This brings me to Rhymefest, a Chicago rapper and close friend of other Chicago products like Lupe Fiasco and Kanye West. Rhymefest impressed with his major label debut “Blue Collar,” and he has quietly worked his way up the rap industry food chain,. He is now one of the brightest examples of the recent Chi-Town hip hop renaissance. “Man in the Mirror” is more an elaborate mix tape than a proper album, but it is probably the best thing to bear Jackson’s same since “Captain Eo.” Produced by recent Grammy winner Mark Ronson, “Man in the Mirror” takes a dizzying assortment of Jackson and Jackson 5 samples and wraps them around Rhymefest’s pithy, humorous flow. Early on in the album, Rhymefest takes the Jackson 5’s “Dancing Machine” and rides the funk groove for about a minute and a half, and then cuts the music short to indulge in one of many skits featuring the disembodied voice of Jackson. As a general rule, I think the obligatory hip-hop skits are unnecessary, but these staged conversations with Jackson illustrate Rhymefest’s love of the music and even his respect for him Jackson as an artist. In one particularly funny exchange Fest asks Jackson for advice about staying faithful to his wife while on the road: “When you was with Elvis’ daughter, Lisa Marie, did you still indulge when you was on the road?”
Like Common, Lupe Fiasco and other Chicago rappers that have emerged in recent years, Rhymefest isn’t afraid of confronting moral issues, and the centerpiece of the album has to be “No Sunshine,” where a very young Jackson sings Bill Withers’ immortal lament, “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and Rhymefest brings the emotion, rapping, “Have you ever wanted something so bad, till you got it, and it loses all the magic, and it just don’t feel exotic, take it for granted, beat it up, till you loose it, is it your car, or your money, your girl, or your music, or you take the blue pill, now you livin’ that illusion, I spit mind out, now I’m livin’ in my movement.” The album closes with Fest rapping just a few lines over “Man in the Mirror” and then allowing Jackson to rock out the rest of the song alone, a respectful and appropriate coda to an outstanding concept album.
I have to say the best part about the album is that it is available as a free download on Rhymefest’s MySpace page. So, as Lavar Burton once said, “Don’t take my word for it, check it out!”
Grade A-