One - The Mix Tape

Real Hip Hop
by: tom reiter

The Teacha's latest release is as much another formal response to Nelly as it is a teaser for his upcoming album, Kristyle. Released by popular demand and marketed as a mini-LP, the fact that Mix Tape has 13 tracks is a bit deceiving...only eight are songs. Nonetheless, Mix Tape shows some promising things are to come from KRS. One of the mainstays in hip-hop's journey, KRS has never deserted the boom-bap beats that are the basis for East-coast hip-hop (except for a slight deviation during his side project with the Temple of Hip Hop).

The opening track "Ova Here" is all about real hip-hop and not the profit-inspired hip-pop that is being produced today. "The real hip-hop is ova here" is essentially a message to listeners that KRS is the definition of hip-hop, while Nelly and artists like him are not. It is one of the best tracks KRS has put out in a long time.

Mix Tape also features "The Message 2002," another street-banger, boom-bap track that is the epitome of all that is hip-hop (critics note: I have also heard a darker mix of this on the Late Night Hype on WMSE, as of posting time I am not sure which mix will be on Kristyle.) Of course, what KRS-One album would be complete without education? "Stop It" and "Problemz" finish up what "Message" started, sealed with a commentary from KRS.

If Kristyle fulfills what The Mix Tape has prophecized, it should be one of the best hip-hop albums of the year. 29-Oct-2002 11:00 PM