I’ll admit that it’s hard to keep myself from falling into that trap where I hate everything that’s “commercial.” Even Jay-Z, who used to be embraced by the underground, is now hated by many because he’s played on MTV. Does the music really fall off when artists get popular, or is it just our subconscious devotion to the underground that makes us think like this? You have to judge on an individual basis – some commercial artists truly are terrible. However, I went into The Truth with an open mind, and it’s not a bad album. In fact, despite some inconsistencies, this is a solid effort with some important messages, some creative beats, some decent lyrics, and some needless thug garbage. In other words, you get a little bit of everything.
As the album opens, the title track features a rough bassline with a piano/organ loop. It’s a nice beat, and if listeners can accept the thug-oriented lyrics, they will discover that Beanie Sigel seems more real than the typical “studio gangster” (hence the title, “The Truth”). The next song, “Who Want What,” is a real anthem-type song – I could see this one blowing up. With more organs in the background, Beanie and Memphis Bleek trade lyrics. While the beat is dope, I really can’t handle the rhymes. It’s the typical “I’m so hard, I’m high, I’m have lots of guns” subject matter. From this point, the album takes a downturn with Jay-Z being featured on “Raw and Uncut.” Again, this is one of the tracks where Beanie resorts to the average thug, selling drugs, etc. Unfortunately, this song can’t even compare to the one before it, because the beat is lazy.
The album continues to be a mixture of equal parts good songs, mediocre songs, and bad songs. “Mac Man” is a sample of the song from the Pac-Man video game, which would have been much better if it came out before the Cocoa Brovaz sample of Super Mario Bros. Instead of being an incredibly innovative track, it becomes a sort of annoying concept that has already been done. However, to the mainstream, it will be a new idea. “Playa” is a track featuring Amil and Jay-Z, and is easily the worst song on the album. The message is promoting “playas” (not surprisingly), and has Amil whispering like a thugged-out Bahamadia, “You know the rules in this playa shit/ Ain’t no such thing as relationships.” There’s a good message for the young ladies. But the album quickly strikes back with “Remember Them Days,” which is on a vibe similar to the classic Biggie track, “Juicy.” Listeners may ridicule me for this statement. This is another song which could blow up on the radio, but underground fans may think that Eve singing the chorus is incredibly cheesy. Personally, I believe its one of the most honest joints on the album. You’ll have to decide for yourself.
Beanie teams up with Scarface on “Mac and Brand,” but what would seem like an intriguing pairing actually comes off quite boring. The final real gem on the album is “What Your Life Like,” where Beanie talks about being in jail. Again, it’s very straightforward and aggressive, but the horns in the eerie track put a perfect backdrop to the dark and honest lyrics, like “Gotta wash out your drawers, same water you shit/ Brush, gargle and spit, same water you piss” and “Locked down all day, underground, never seein the sun/ Visits stripped from you, never seein your son.” The album winds down with 3 more very dark tracks of average quality, and finally a bonus cut, the “Anything” remix. This song seems totally out of place, first of all because Beanie Sigel appears nowhere on it, but also because it doesn’t go along with the mood of the rest of the album. Not to mention the fact that Jay-Z already used the “children in a musical” hook last year. I guess the song has got an uplifting message – I can’t fault it too much, except it should have shown up somewhere else.
The Truth may not be the classic material that some commercial publications are making it out to be, but it deserves some respect. For the most part, it can be characterized by some very nice production and street-oriented lyrics with occasional flashes of brilliance. Whether or not its less thoughtful songs can be tolerated is a matter of taste. For those who never experience hip hop past Cash Money and Ruff Ryders, this album may show a little more lyricism and conceptualism than they are used to… for those strictly underground heads, it is something that deserves a listen but probably won’t have you rushing to the record store.
-Joe Kostelnik
