I asked a hip-hop dealer on the corner of 3rd & St. Marks if he had the new Prince Po album. Apparently, I had asked him for the new Panda Bear LP instead, as he had no idea what I was talking about.
And the Prince Po international parade of anonymity marches on. Organized Konfusion was more slept on than Trina, and while Pharoahe Monch went on to get the fuck up, Simon said Prince Poetry would have to wait in the basement while the other children played in the yard. But seven years on from The Equinox, Po's bouncing ball of justice may have arrived in the form of his Lex Records debut. From Po's opening volley ("Grind like the Clipse, flow like The Beatles") to his closing pathos, this "freshman" release is the white pair of gloves for Po to usher in a promising era of The Slickness.
While Anticon beatmaker Jel's tag on the opening track might hint at Anticon-esque abstruse nonsense, "Hello" is an accessible pacecar for Po's solo debut. Legato strings tease the listener for a half-minute before Po steps up and recites the Virgin Megastore's $9.99 rock section: "My ghetto Synchronicity officially eludes The Police/ They bes terrified of my mystery/ Got 'em walking on the moon/ When they Hootie blowing 'fficially parties/ It's like The Clash when they mention me."
Aside from illuminating his knowledge of a canon outside the hip-hop sphere, Po's deft wordplay demonstrates his growth since Organized Konfusion's Stress. Like Monche, Po abandoned the sing-songy early 90s flow for a semi-rhythmic machine gun style, allowing him more longitude. On the emotional "Be Easy", Po spits soul-baring honesty: "Major cutbacks, blacks go first.../ So many crooked cops pull cards and they hate spades."
More importantly, Po never loses touch with hip-hop's carnal side. On the "Across 110th Street" mock-up "Love Thang" rocks a soul-stuffed sample that probably got my mom and pops to hit the sack. Danger Mouse makes the bed while Po fluffs the pillows: "Baby, I'll sop up your biscuits with this gravy straight out the pot/ Hot how you want it." Meanwhile, UK beat chemist Richard X delivers the hottest track here in the form of "Hold Dat", a 16-bit skyscraping car chase. (Sorry DJs, it's only on the CD.)
Oddly, the album's title track falters. The Atlanta Braves woh-oh'ing bores and disrupts the album's otherwise flow. Furthermore, The Slickness does suffer from a slight case of guest bloat. MF Doom simply outshines on "Social Distortion" with lines like, "Wrote this humdinger with a dislocated bling finger," and, "Drag 'em backstage like the tiger did Siegfried"; J-Zone, Raekwon, and even Jemini's appearances frequently show up the main attraction as well.
Still, The Slickness excels at balance. Like Doom's Vaudeville Villain and Danger Mouse's Grey Album, Po & Co.'s non-denominational approach lets the album dance between straightforward beat-knocking and esoteric soul to please the hip-hop head and the indie rockers alike. Despite a handful of occasional blunders, Po helms an excellent release.
