Pharoahe Monch

It's been eight years since Pharoahe Monch channeled Simon and said, "Get the f*ck up." In the interim, he's kept busy ghostwriting for Diddy, dropping an US Weekly-worthy remix of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" and polishing off his long-awaited sophomore offering, Desire.

Despite a lengthy hiatus, Monch eschews conventional hip-hop comeback histrionics. Desire opens with a verse from the spiritual "Oh Freedom" that's more pastor's invocation than brash braggadocio. But the intro fast gives way to the one-two punch of "Free" and "Desire," on which Monch deftly navigates a furious melange of guitars, dusty groove samples and synths concocted by Bo McKensie and The Alchemist, respectively.

Monch is smarter than the average rapper, but he doesn't get bogged down like other heady microphonists. Even on the politically tinged "When the Gun Draws," he's careful not to browbeat from his bully pulpit, and this taut balance of wit, soul and sharply crafted storytelling reminds us why Monch earned comparisons to Rakim the last time around.

Pharoahe is on a breathless tear throughout the first half of Desire, peaking with the most outlandish of his singles to date: "Body Baby" is a brassy, Elvis-influenced ditty that defies hip-hop convention, borrowing from the sock-hop sound of the '50s. But this top-heaviness is the album's chief shortcoming. The smoother, sexier Pharoahe on "Bar Tap," "Hold On" and "So Good" is far less compelling. Nevertheless, it's refreshing to hear Monch remain relevant after such a long break from hip-hop's intense spotlight.

—Luis Morales
06.26.07

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 track-to-track 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 itself (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 Monch-like quotables that might take a couple listens to catch. Production-wise, it's quite different from Internal Affairs, incorporating gritty gospel, anthemic funk, and laid-back soul (not to mention an ambitious, sprawling, three-part 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 trip-up is a well-intentioned 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 mid-thirties as they were in their early twenties. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide