Spring Break
Album 'Vocal Sport' Slam Dunks
CD Review
Sarah Kopman-Fried
Issue date: 1/31/07 Section: Focus
Hailing from the same New Jersey neighborhood as music greats Queen Latifah and Naughty by Nature, underground rap artist Beneficence has had quite a lot to live up to. In his newly released album, "Vocal Sport," the young rapper attempts to do just that. The first few tracks on the CD leave much to be desired.
In his first song, "Welcome to the Valley," the background music is unoriginal and redundant, which, when coupled with rather predictable lyrics, is a major disappointment. The next song, "Terrible Pleasure," also falls below expectations with over-mixed instrumentals that make it difficult to even listen to, let alone understand, what Beneficence is trying to communicate.
However, the rest of the album does get progressively better. In his fifth track, "All Access," Beneficence begins to discuss real problems facing today's African American teens; the lack of health care and the constant violence. Here, the rapper's polished style really shows as he transitions into smart, smooth lyrics. This is especially apparent in the album's last track, "Stayin Alive," where Beneficence raps, "we have to check the cycle of poverty ... there's lots of heat on the street / but the city's ice cold."
Throughout the album, Beneficence's message stays fairly consistent: African Americans living in the ghetto must change their behavior and set an example for the younger generation in order to set things right. To harp even more strongly on this point, Beneficence actually stops rapping on the eighth track, and instead performs a small skit featuring him being told about the death of one of his favorite performers. At the end of the skit, Beneficence repeats the line, "this has gotten ridiculous," several times, before finishing with "something must be done."
Beneficence manages to clearly communicate his point without using expletives or vulgarly sexual lyrics, which are commonly found in today's rap music, while still sounding as though he is a genuine product of "the projects" that he so frequently refers to. This is especially clear in one of the final tracks, "30 Love," where the rapper manages to praise a beautiful woman without reducing her to a bunch of attractive physical features.
Beyond Beneficence's lyrics, the rapper's choice of background music varies greatly in quality. In the appropriately titled track "Gotta Rhythm," tango-like rhythms are used that add an interesting dimension to the song. Add to that a performance by the seductively deep-voiced Clyde James, who sounds a little like Frank Sinatra, and the song becomes quite possibly the best track on the entire CD. All in all, despite a rocky start, Beneficence's newest album showcases a great deal of talent and, ultimately, proves to be worth a listen.
In his first song, "Welcome to the Valley," the background music is unoriginal and redundant, which, when coupled with rather predictable lyrics, is a major disappointment. The next song, "Terrible Pleasure," also falls below expectations with over-mixed instrumentals that make it difficult to even listen to, let alone understand, what Beneficence is trying to communicate.
However, the rest of the album does get progressively better. In his fifth track, "All Access," Beneficence begins to discuss real problems facing today's African American teens; the lack of health care and the constant violence. Here, the rapper's polished style really shows as he transitions into smart, smooth lyrics. This is especially apparent in the album's last track, "Stayin Alive," where Beneficence raps, "we have to check the cycle of poverty ... there's lots of heat on the street / but the city's ice cold."
Throughout the album, Beneficence's message stays fairly consistent: African Americans living in the ghetto must change their behavior and set an example for the younger generation in order to set things right. To harp even more strongly on this point, Beneficence actually stops rapping on the eighth track, and instead performs a small skit featuring him being told about the death of one of his favorite performers. At the end of the skit, Beneficence repeats the line, "this has gotten ridiculous," several times, before finishing with "something must be done."
Beneficence manages to clearly communicate his point without using expletives or vulgarly sexual lyrics, which are commonly found in today's rap music, while still sounding as though he is a genuine product of "the projects" that he so frequently refers to. This is especially clear in one of the final tracks, "30 Love," where the rapper manages to praise a beautiful woman without reducing her to a bunch of attractive physical features.
Beyond Beneficence's lyrics, the rapper's choice of background music varies greatly in quality. In the appropriately titled track "Gotta Rhythm," tango-like rhythms are used that add an interesting dimension to the song. Add to that a performance by the seductively deep-voiced Clyde James, who sounds a little like Frank Sinatra, and the song becomes quite possibly the best track on the entire CD. All in all, despite a rocky start, Beneficence's newest album showcases a great deal of talent and, ultimately, proves to be worth a listen.
Be the first to comment on this story