Fire In The Hole

What works so well about this album is its honesty. The subject matter of much of Brand Nubians latest LP Fire in the hole is based on remeniscing about the past times, the lessons a grown man learns as he approaches middle-age, and the bigger picture regarding the ghetto's the black people in America find themselves eternally trapped in. The honesty I am talking about is not neccessarily an explicit honesty, (although the direct lyrics are very explicit) but it's an absence of something that most rap groups who stay together for a long-time find themselves unable to resist. That something is self-importance, acting as if we the audience really care about 'who they are' in terms of how they are living once they have made money and achieved fame. Sure they spit a few bragadoccio lines here and there about Brand Nubian and their history in hip-hop (and why not?) but they don't assume like some others in the game do (De La in recent years perhaps?) that we are so interested in them as people, or their personal growth. Brand Nubian were never the biggest thing in hip-hop even back in their day, so what's refreshing about their sharp and heartfelt observations on this LP is that they just SAY THEM. There is not much ego-attached to these lines, but Grand Puba, Sadat X and Lord Jamar all lay out their truths of life as black men in America, and all of the positive and negative aspects that go along with it. It IS their truth.

"I'm NOT the richest, not by far, and I ain't got 24 inches on the car... my daughter keep me grounded" - Sadat X

The uplifting side to the LP is first of all, the music itself. Most often it's a mixture of beat-making styles from the late 90's with a little more of the clean-sounds of today instead of griminess of Nubians past. Just about every beat is quality, with an abundance of lovely string samples, high pitched vocals (which Rza invented, NOT Kanye West!) and hooks jam-packed with soul. Sadat X is on top form throughout, and gets things off to an amazing start with the chorus of the opener 'Who wanna be a star?' Lyrically then, the good old days are brought back with a teary-eye on beautiful tracks like 'Coming Years', 'Always Mine' and the lovely 'Momma'. On 'Coming Years' Grand Puba delivers his verse in the form of a conversation with a crack-junkie on the street. It's strong. On the amazingly direct 'Young Son' Lord Jamar spits a brilliant verse, talking directly to his son after hearing that he may well be heading to prison, "Looks like your old dad might face some years, don't allow the family name to be disgraced and smeared, protect your mother and sister, if anybody diss 'em become the pain inflictor... You're my only hope for the future..." It's these tracks that speak directly to the audience that have to fill you with admiration for these dudes, not only are their flows tight, but they (yes, even the sarcastic and witty Sadat X) put their hearts into the mission of uplifting the young black youth with issues alien to hip-hop such as honour, respect and love. They open up to us.

Best evidence of the more negative sides are heard on 'Where Are You Now?' where the three MC's think back to all the so-called special women in their lives who were there when the money was there, and dissappeared when it left. The three of them seem to be in such perfect harmony, I honestly don't believe I've ever heard MC's in such perfect union with regards to subject matter and style. Lord Jamar sums the whole thing up, "She don't understand the rules, you don't bite the man who dipped your hands in jewels, you were there when I bought the rock that blind you, now a nigga locked and I can't find you."

Getting locked down, be it in prison or generally in the black urban ghettos where possibility and opportunity seem so rare, are subjects that are returned to throughout the album (a clear sign that this is a REALITY that pervades every subject matter concerning the black youth). "When will the time come that seeds (kids) are the main concern? .... Life is like a hustle when it's colder than a whores heart, but when you coming from the ghetto that's a rough start .... They don't play us [on the radio] 'cos they know we represent peace, and they don't want no peace, they want us killing each other with a piece [gun]" Apologies if you know the slang already, but I know many don't, and as they say at the beginning of this song, "this goes out, to ALL the ghettos around the world". Do you know that caring about those less fortunate is not something that all people have within their hearts? Some people couldn't give a damn that there are poor uneducated and ignorant people on this Earth, but these guys dedicate most of the 12 solid tracks on this LP to speaking about these issues. Why? Because they see these problems as more important than worrying about their own selves. I've heard too many hip-hop albums in which the MC's start talking about how difficult their own lives are because of fame and money (damn, eminem started bitching and complaining about his fame on just his second album!) But these dudes clearly have a bigger agenda at heart- the people.

And they're right, this album won't get played. Sure, they aren't the most complex rhymers, the beats aren't the most current/fresh, and okay I'll admit, if anyone's gonna remix "Ooh Child" they'll have to do better than Nubian did here (this is the only song that seems particularly lacking in soul). But once an intelligent person listens to these lyrics (yes, I know it's hard for some people) there should be no doubt in anyones mind that this album is dope, and in its own way, incredibly fresh. It didn't get good reviews from most people, if most people even bothered to review it, whereas some mindless jiggy shi- with Pharell Williams (to name one) singing about women and sex will have all the reviewers (mainstream AND 'underground') completely fooled into thinking that all the black man in America thinks about is fine clothes, naked-women, diamonds and money. The Roots put it best on their new album when the poetry on the first track speaks of 'Hypnotic Donkey-Rhythms'... that's what's invaded hip-hop now. I saw Brand Nubian live in Baltimore at one of the first shows promoting this album, and there they were, loved by the people, Grand Puba wearing a baggy white T-Shirt, and the three of them looking like they'd come straight from the streets. I could care less where they live though, it's what they're saying that matters on this amazing record. There's something wrong with hip-hop when an album like this is not seen as valuable, because I'm telling you right now, this album is hip-hop.

Y.Misdaq aka Yoshi, 18th Sep 2004