A lot of people my age only remember Pharoahe Monch as the guy that appeared out of nowhere with that song "Simon Says." Trust me, theres wayyyy more to him than just that track.
Back in the late 80s Pharoahe Monch started off in a group with another dope emcee, Prince Po (follow him on twitter @PrincePo I've had the pleasure of getting to know this guy...very cool/good dude.) called Simply II Positive MCs. At first, Prince Po was the rapper while Monch beatboxed...luckily they realized that Pharoahe was an amazing lyricist and he started rapping as well. They caught the attention of producer Paul C (RIP) who produced their demo back in the late 80s. Check out "Coolin One Day" off their demo. (oh yea, thats pharoahe on the right in the youtube photo...he was a bit bigger back then)
After the demo, Pharoahe and Po signed to Hollywood BASIC records and changed their groups name to Organized Konfusion. They released their self titled debut album in 1991 which, in my opinion, is a great album...plus its hard as hell to find.
Check out the lead single "Fudge Pudge" featuring O.C. (another artist I'll have to break down for yall one day). Also, look how different Pharoahe looks.
If you want proof that Pharoahe's lyrics were CRAZY even back in the early 90s (Po's as well) there's plenty of proof on this album. There is ONE song though that has lyrics so mindblowing that to this day im STILL trying to figure out most of them...the song is DOPE though. Check Out "Hypnotical Gasses" and make sure to check out the crazy beat change halfway through the song.
The album received high marks by critics and fans alike but due to low sales and lack of promotion it was unfairly put into the category of unknown classics.
It took until 1994 for them to come out with another album, and they did the impossible. They followed up a classic album with an EVEN BETTER album. Stress: The Extinction Agenda.
The feel of this album was WAY darker than the previous one and Pharoahes flow just becomes absolutely RIDICULOUS throughout this whole thing. Dude almost sounds possessed! Here's the single "Stress"
You can tell most of the playfulness is gone and replaced by raw lyrical power. I love when Pharoahe says "why must you believe that something is phat just because its played on the radio 20 times a day." It always bugs me out when someone thinks a song is hot just because its on the radio. ANYWAY...still need proof that Pharoahe's flow is crazy on this album? Check out "Bring It On."
Man, both of them KILLED it...oh and if you didn't know...not only do they rap on their albums, they also did a lot of the beats.
Anyway, this album also got great reviews (even getting in the Source's Top 100 albums list) but once again due to poor promotion it didn't sell that well.
Next up was their third and final album, Equinox: The Extinction Agenda.
They went on a different path here and created a concept album. Peep the single produced by Rockwilder.
Interesting video. I think the best song on the album though is the track "Invetro" where both Pharoahe and Po rap from the point of view of unborn twins. Pharoahe rapping from the point of view of the twin who wants to be aborted while Po raps as the unborn child that wants to live.
After this album, to the dismay of many fans, Organized Konfusion went their separate ways.
Let's focus on Prince Po's solo career first.
After the break up, not much was heard from Prince Po save for a verse on Pharoahe's first solo album and about one or two other tracks with artists. Finally in 2004 he released The Slickness.
While it didn't make as many waves as Pharoahe's solo album, it was still a good album. Check out this funky track "Love Thang"
Fortunately we only had to wait two years for the next album, "Prettyblack", to be released.
Honestly I like this album more than The Slickness. The beats and lyrics just stood out more. Plus Large Professor did a beat on the album! Here's "Right 2 Know" produced by Large Pro
He clearly hasn't lost a step in the lyrics. Now, he put out an EP and a collabo album later but they didnt capture the greatness of the "PrettyBlack" album. I'm hoping his next release is going to be the quality shit that I know Po is capable of doing.
Ok, now for Pharoahe Monch. After the breakup, he almost immediately signed to Rawkus Records and started work on his solo album "Internal Affairs."
After a couple appearances on Rawkus's Soundbombing 2, the album was released in 1999 with the lead hit single "Simon Says."
Unfortunately, the beat used an uncleared sample from a track from the Godzilla VS Mothra movie causing the album to be taken off shelves. DAMN shame because the album is crazy. Simon Says isn't even my favorite track...I have to give that to the song "Queens."
A couple years later he had a small hit off the Training Day soundtrack called "Fuck You"
After few more singles, including "Agent Orange." I didn't hear much from dude until 2007 when he released another dope album..."Desire"
With dope singles like "Desire"
and "Body Baby"
It was clear that Pharoahe hadn't lost a step and was still entertaining as hell. Then there was another period where I didn't hear much from Pharoahe. Now here we are in 2011 and we still haven't had a new Pharoahe album. Well, that's about to change in a couple months with W.A.R. After hearing the two leaked songs, I'm very excited for this album.
The first single "Shine" featuring the awesome Mela Machinko (on twitter @MelaMachinko shes pretty hilarious) and produced by Diamond D (produced for Fat Joe, Fugees, Mos Def, Xzibit, and more) shows that hes STILL got it!
The 2nd single "Clap" is even better. Produced by M-Phazes with cuts by X-Ecutioners own ridiculously talented DJ Boogie Blind (@BoogieBlind on twitter) Pharoahe brings the exact dope lyrics weve expected from him.
If these two tracks are an accurate taste of what W.A.R. is going to be like, then its going to be a great album and more proof that Pharoahe is going to be around for a long time.
And there ya have it. Hopefully you learned something. If you learn anything from this page, share the info with those that you know would be interested in it. Keep spreading the knowledge.
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