Pharoahe Monch - Desire (CD)

All Music Guide

What if Kool G Rap's second album came out approximately eight years after his first? That would be a period long enough to leap from Road to the Riches to Roots of Evil, over Wanted: Dead or Alive, Live and Let Die, and 4, 5, 6. While it's an unfair analogy to make for many reasons when talking about the frustrating lag between Internal Affairs and Desire, it's a helpful one to think about if you're approaching Desire with the expectation of hearing Internal Affairs, Vol. 2. On Internal Affairs, a tracktotrack strongarm tactic to reach more ears without too many creative concessions, Pharoahe Monch toughened up. It paid off to an extent: "Simon Says" and "Right Here" were loved by plenty of people who didn't know Organized Konfusion from Organized Noize. Pharoahe could've attempted to capitalize on the momentum, but he crept low, releasing the occasional single and compilation track (like "Agent Orange" and "What Is the Law"), and collaborating when the right situation presented its...elf (like Talib Kweli's "Guerrilla Monsoon Rap" and J Dilla's "Love"). As a result, Desire is a taut and focused work that energizes, packed densely with typically Monchlike quotables that might take a couple listens to catch. Productionwise, it's quite different from Internal Affairs, incorporating gritty gospel, anthemic funk, and laidback soul (not to mention an ambitious, sprawling, threepart finale), along with a measured amount of material that sounds more like a logical extension of Pharoahe's past. Altogether, it's a brighter, bolder set of tracks. The lone tripup is a wellintentioned cover of Public Enemy's "Welcome to the Terrordome"; despite a relevant added verse, no one can reinterpret Chuck D and the Bomb Squad at the peak of their powers without coming up a little short. This is the kind of album that could only be made by a veteran who knows the difference between running your mouth and speaking when you have something to say, and not many elder MCs can say they were as vital in their midthirties as they were in their early twenties. - Andy Kellman, All Music Guide Read more Less