Blitz "Double Consciousness" album review

Double Consciousness is the second LP from independent MC Blitz. The African born (Ghana) rapper's first album, Soul Rebel , showed an ability to match skill and content, but with his second outing Blitz is upping the ante.

You'd assume a title lifted from The Soul of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois would be heavy with social commentary... you'd be absolutely right. From the very first track, listeners are treated to a carefully orchestrated barrage of sick beats, intricate wordplay, story telling, and enough food for thought to fill up the mind of the most blinged-out BET Junkie.

On the first few tracks Blitz rhymes with an aggressive style that takes aim at several topics. Over a sampled symphony beat he rhymes: "radio'll play this over and over again if my verse was stupid/Blitz is back to school ya/how these suckas fool ya/dedicating more than half of their verse to Jake the Jeweler." We hear the same intensity on songs like "Free at Last," and "Riot Music," where Blitz's lyrical prowess is on full display as he calls out The Industry: "Middle finger in the air forever/no ice, no whips/just a portrait of Che Guevara."

This album, however, goes beyond bobbing your head. Musical skills, not just MC skills, help to make this album. On one of the stand out tracks, "Road Less Traveled," we have a perfect pairing of lyrics and delivery to beat and live instruments. Blitz wonders about the child (an anonymous African holding a rifle) who's photo graced the cover of his first album and is assisted by singers (simply named Rashemba and Ngina in the liner notes) and a sax soloist. The mood of the track is perfectly setup by the sounds and the words. The same could be said for tracks like "Memory Lane" and "Emmet (S)Till." The content throughout most of the album is potent, but at the same time they're quality songs that do the job of bringing the message without sacrificing music. A problem that plagues so many independent artists working with bad flow, skinny budgets, and a fat book of high concept rhymes.

Another element that helps Double Consciousness exceed expectations is its creative range - a rarity in most mainstream offerings. From the laid back and solemn "Road Less Traveled," we have it's opposite in "Sankofa," an energetic call and response song that uses traditional African instruments and singing style. In "Where Ever You Are" Blitz speaks on the current political and cultural climate in Africa, then switches to political activism in "Get in Involved:" "Bill Clinton played sax/got votes from blacks/turned around and put more brothers in jail."

One of the only downsides to this album is the misplaced track "Need you." A love song that sounds like the love song rappers usually do. Amidst the politically charged songs that fill the rest of Double Consciousness this song seems very disconnected. I also hoped that the DuBois theory of double consciousness would be explored more on the title track. The idea of looking at one's self through the eyes of others would have made for an interesting song.

It's nit picking really. The album as a whole is near perfect, and has been in regular rotation in my car, and in my iPod, since I bought it. The carefully picked words and superior beats by industry unknowns like Opticks and Fittee makes Double Consciousness a hip-hop album that stands out not only for it's thoughtful lyrics, but musical appeal and creativity.