Albums That Deserve Another Chance: Rhymefest’s “Blue Collar”

I must say, I'm on quite a roll recently...after the positive reviews of last week's article defending Ray Cash's debut, I think it's time that I kept the ball rolling with another well-reviewed '06 debut album. Being that it has personal importance to me, I will once again be motivated to deliver a song-by-song review!

Named after the famous Marxist revolutionary, Che Smith started his hip-hop journey as a 15-year old in 1992 when he first met another young student by the name of Kanye Omari West. Having been close friends ever since, the newly-dubbed Rhymefest took his wares to the underground while attending college at Purdue and Columbia (so does that make him a Boilermaker Lion?), notably defeating a certain Marshall Mathers from Detroit in a '97 Scribble Jam freestyle. However, it was his ghostwriting for Kanye's breakout single "Jesus Walks" that set him into motion...having gotten offers from both G.O.O.D. Music and Allido, Fest chose the latter (not wanting to jeopardize his friendship with Ye), picking up distribution from J Records (where he notably rebuffed Busta Rhymes' critiques of how Mr. Davis handles his hip-hop acts). Setting a mission to bring back the true essence of hip-hop, we got his debut album "Blue Collar" in '06.

Of course, this didn't get the mainstream attention it should have, explaining the low sales. However, at the Hype, we strive to be as neutral as possible, leading us to ask the question: Did it really deserve to be slept-on this much? Let's give it another chance!

#1 "Feel Free (Intro) (ft. Q-Tip)"
Here is where the mood is set for hip-hop's revival! Mike Payne and his Animal House production crew get their gospel vibe on while Fest and Tip give a preview of what's to come on this near-classic (can I get an AMEN!)

#2 "Dynomite (Going Postal)"
Is it me, or does Just Blaze have what it takes to make any "opening full track" a banger? Over samples of The Whatnauts' "We Will Always Be Together" and Jimmie Walker's "The Black Prince Has Arrived," Fest lives up to both the track's opening name and its subtitle, striking a perfect balance between hardcore gangsta and ultra-lyrical content, even throwing in his suspicions about the War on Terror. Turn this up to the maximum volume in the car for the fullest effect...simply a majestic banger that precedes the future king about to take his throne!

#3 "Brand New (ft. Kanye West)"
The obvious choice for the official lead single, Fest and Ye both show off their brand-new flows. including one of the better displays I have ever seen on a video that got heavy rotation on MTV...nonetheless, the third verse is perhaps my favorite:

"I quick bust 'em and then hit 'em - fuck the cynicism
I'm quick to give y'all niggaz constructive criticism
Like 'Wait - you basically suck' - his mother said 'My son wanna rhyme!'
I'm like 'Ma'am - I don't agree with that decision
Nothin' against him - but if he step I got to diss him
I listen to that weak shit - all of it - I can't follow it
[Barf] Excuse me - I'm whack-tose intolerant'
'I worked too hard to get my baby ballin' kid!'
Down the fives - had me blue collar poppin' it
Now I'm in the club - and look who I get it poppin' with
Me and 'Ye go back like crew cuts
He hook me up - as long as I don't ask him for too much
But even he know 'Fest is layin' it down
Cause this is just an old beat he had layin' around!"

Whoa...quite a display! Click the link above for the video which has value of its own...not only does it feature some creative backgrounds, but it was also likely the first time we are treated to the beautiful and sweet-natured Bria Myles.

#4 "Fever"
Though I would dispute his claim that he "made a billion dollars on ringtones," otherwise this makes a perfect club banger...No I.D.'s sample of La Lupe's hit of the same name spices things up, inspiring Fest to center his flow on that one word (more on the level of French Montana's "New York Minute" than Game's "Shake"). I certainly got the fever for good music, and this is the remedy.

#5 "All I Do"
Fest's ode to the Southside of Chicago, this is something I bet the mothership's owner/operator has in his iPod...Yes, it is truly that brutal, as accentuated by Emile & Cochise's sample of Willie Hutch's Ain't That (Mellow Mellow) from blaxploitation classic "Foxy Brown" (not the femcee but her namesake). One of the deeper tracks on this album, with a clever play on words...you put 'em together (AllIDo), and you get his old label (Allido)

#6 "Get Down"
The obvious banger for the mainstream hip-hop clubs, as Fest parties and checks out the women all over, once again to a No I.D. beat. Baiscally, an average party jam, though with his current race ahead, it could be a dagger to his campaign-I could imagine his opponent playing the lines "Pocket full of Stones like Sly and the Family/Lift your shirt girl, show me the mammaries...Pull my dick out and I done caused a damn eclipse!" and then saying "Is THIS the man you want as your alderman?" (Personally, I wouldn't mind)
#7 "More (ft. Kanye West)"
The second of the Kanye collabos documents the three aspects of the hip-hop artists' life, with the first verse about the music, the second about the women, and the third about the streets' background. Nathan might use the first verse as the theme song to "Your Favorite Rapper Is Poor" series:

"This industry be tryin to strangle niggaz in the choke
You think these rappers rich? These niggaz out here sellin dope
You think it's crazy sayin, 'If I had what he had'
But if you had what he had, nigga you'd be mad
Three kids, see dad broke-ass waitin on the royalties with no cash
Nice car, no gas, stuck at the pump
Had a lil' hot single now he's stuck in a slump
At the top of his section eight, straight waitin to jump
Like Milli Vanilli, now people just look at him silly
Sayin 'That's umm - I forgot his name - who is he?'
He wanted (mooore) never really thought of the loss
Lookin for (mooore) everybody playin the boss
To get (mooore) now he just stuck in the sauce
Like white kids when they got cut off, 'Daddy I want..' (mooore)"

Together with Kanye's hook (in my mind, it sure beats his 808s & Heartbreak vocals) and Cool & Dre's bright-sounding beat, this should certainly have been a classic.

#8 "Chicago-Rillas (ft. Mikkey Halsted & Bump J)"
This one's for the gangstas! At the time, Mikkey was still caught between his Cash Money era and his Darkroom one, so we get a mixture of storytelling and gangsta stuff. In retrospect, Bump J's verse about how crooked cops were his favorite customers sounds kinda dated now that he's doing time in a Texas federal prison (maybe he missed a payment)? Nonetheless, what Mikkey and Bump would do physically, Fest will merely do lyrically like he's been doing! Over No I.D.'s Kanye-esque beat, this is certainly the "mixtape material" anybody in the streets can gravitate towards.

#9 "Stick"
Though it's the album's weakest track, "Stick" certainly does better than most others of the sort...after all, they don't call American history "paper clothes-remover" for nothing! (Fest demonstrates by mentioning Columbus, Franklin, and Farrakhan). These Milwaukee folks at the Animal House handle their business once again with the minimal beat and bell sample of Bob James' "Take Me to the Mardi Gras" used in countless other hip-hop classics...Certainly a party track you can get down with (being a social studies enthusiast, I think I'll try his methods)

#10 "All Girls Cheat (ft. Mario)"
The last single, and likely the one the label most pressed him to do...but still, it certainly holds its own. Fest is sure to bring up a certain truth for us who are caught up in a constantly misandristic radio scene, reminding us that women cheat the same as men do, with the difference being that while men ultimately 'fess up, many women take their secrets to their grave. Then-J Records labelmate Mario gets inspiration from the Isley Brothers' "Footsteps in the Dark" for his hook, while Cool & Dre bring on their "Hate It or Love It" sound while switching up Philippe Wynne's "Think of Your Thoughts As Children". For some reason this never had a video made...it certainly should have gotten the full promo!

#11 "Devil's Pie"
Fest alludes to D'Angelo's hit of the same name, with the namesake pastry serving as a metaphor for the vision of the inner city's troubles from their point of view. Living in Racine, I can safely say that if that understanding is devil's pie, then my city's a Baker's Square! The first of Mark Ronson's three beats kicks in as well, giving a sample of The Strokes' "Someday". Now we're in the home stretch...

#12 "Sister (ft. Mike Payne)"
Another story I can certainly relate too...I encounter a woman with one-night lovin' on my mind at first, but then seeing the troubles in her life. Naturally, Fest tries to save her, but soon it becomes apparent that this woman is just fine with her troubles (sadly) and doesn't want to be saved. Milwaukee native Mike Payne handles a soulful falsetto background just perfectly, and No I.D. once again brings a powerful sample, this time of Eddie Kendricks' "Intimate Friends" (most commonly used on Alicia Keys' "Unbreakable"). Truly poetry in motion if I ever saw it.

#13 "Mr. Blue Collar Interlude (Malik Yusef)"
G.O.O.D. Music affiliate Malik does what he does best going from hip-hop's roots as spoken-word poetry. This here's my favorite excerpt:

"So like Tom, let me Cruise you through this here Minority Report
Y'all know we ain't really run this rap shit
And ain't got no REAL authority in sports
And why do them fake media keep feeding you lies and tellin' you that
All the Blacks and Latinos is out here smugglin'
When the vast majority of minorities got two jobs, a career, and family time"

#14 "Bullet"
This story once again has three parts. Part 1 is about a young high school graduate who couldn't afford college, and is then approached by some Army recruits with the promise of college money, then enlists and gets sent to Iraq, where he's promptly killed in action. Part 2 demonstrates a man who sleeps with a different woman every night (and of all types), then finds out that he's gotten an STD. On Part 3 Fest deals with his own personal struggles in the hood, with different bodies on the street every day. Once again, Emile & Concise know how to handle the beat, with a sample of Citizen Cope's "Bullet and a Target" to go along with it...All well-told stories, all sad stories...but all true stories.

#15 "Tell a Story"
On the sixth storytelling track on this album, Fest explains his motivation comes from his experiences, and encourages others in that scenario to put them on wax for all us hip-hop heads to enjoy! Mark Ronson's sample of The New Birth's "You Don't Have to Be Alone" comes with catchy syncopation, leaving me to think (and I don't believe I'm typing this) that OutKast could easily send out the elephants to trample this instrumental to pieces! Thirteen tracks in, one to go, and I NONE I would press "Skip" on!

#16 "Build Me Up (ft. O.D.B.)"
Fest thinks "Hmmmm...how do I close this up?" This track is the ULTIMATE in "feel-good"...with Fest rhyming over a super-fine woman he's trying to attract (though more in the Big Boi than the Soulja Boy style). Mark Ronson brings the good percussion...but in reality, the highlight should be OBVIOUS. I mean, where else can you hear the late great Ol' Dirty Bastard Big Baby Jesus Dirt McGirt singing the well-known chorus of The Foundations' "Build Me Up Buttercup" as only he can do? Not until Cee-Lo Green did "Fuck You" would anybody come even close to the feel-good AND grown-folk atmosphere music balance struck so beautifully here!

FINAL SCORE: Everybody should have this in their collections. It has something for everybody like last week's review, but unlike that, it has a more "uplifting" vibe to it! Given that we do not wish to hand out the "classic" label to everything, I'll give this a 4.75 out of 5 (Extremely Close to Classic But For Some Reason Not A Lot Of Folks Remember It But They Really Should Again).

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: The next year, Fest would start work on the follow-up "El Che". Unfortunately, his iPod with that entire album was stolen AND the Jive people took over J Records' hip-hop department, which made Fest seek his release. After three more years of work, "El Che" finally saw release on dNBe/EMI, but with entirely different producers this time around. Today, he is running for Alderman of Chicago's 20th Ward, with the election set to take place on February 22. For more info go here. Thank you for your time, and I'm hoping that Rhymefest can count on your support in your playlist (and for those living in Chicago's 20th Ward, on your vote on 2-22-11)