Prince Paul

One of hip-hop's most influential producers, Prince Paul has been concocting dope tracks since the 1980s, working with Stetsasonic, De La Soul, Gravediggaz, and many others. On his latest solo LP, he assembles an all-star cast (Chuck D, MF Doom, Beatnuts, Masta Ace, etc.) for a solid concept album examining the ethics of the recording industry.

Prince Paul's first two solo albums elevated the between-song hip-hop skit to something of
an art form, with comedy sketches and tales of rap-game malfeasance framing ill rhymes
and groove-heavy production. Politics draws on the same format of skits, rhymes and
beats, with a little less success -- there's no narrative to hold together all the jokes about
how fucked up hip-hop is, and it's not as funny, either. But as Dave Chappelle, E... More >