It’s a shame that this album is only known for the religious controversy that accompanied it, rather than the rhymes that were well ahead of their time (still are). A quick glance at Ras Kass’ discography is all the proof needed to show that dude dumbed down his lyrics as time went on. It’s not entirely fair to say that Rassy just started fuckin’ with Dre and lost his credibility on the spot, because he had a guest spot from Coolio on the largely underground Soul On Ice, and Coolio in the late 90’s was a celebrity of the same caliber as Dre.
What’s truly amazing about this album is the production. Although, the production of this album has it’s critics, you would be a fool to be among them. Ras Kass enlisted a few no-name producers to handle the production, and resulted with some of the illest production of the 90’s. And trust, when I say no-name’s, I don’t mean semi-legendary West Coast producers. I mean the likes of Vooodu, Bird, Michael Barber, Michael Schlesinger and Reno Delajuan. The only semi-recognizable name is DJ Battlecat who is heavy on the West Coast.
The instrumentals are one thing, but the lyrics are another thing onto themselves. Ras Kass digged deep into his soul to deliver some of these songs. And this belongs in the tapedeck of any true hip hop head for the simple reason that you will never find a similar or even comparable album in the hip hop genre. No other rapper has ever explored race, history, or religion as intimately as Ras Kass does on this album. For that reason alone, this album is worthy of inclusion in your digital collection.
Choice Cuts:
Sonset
Etc.
On Earth As It Is Heaven
Places to cop from:
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