Many feel that the ability for a commercial hip-hop release to get respect from the underground died with Pac and Biggie. One of the exceptions to this rule has been Busta Rhymes. While his albums get very little love underground, many of his singles (“Put Your Hands Where my Eyes Could See” and “Woo-Ha”) can rip crowds in a ignorance-filled club or at an Anticon show. Another crew who has demonstrated this crossover ability is the Outsidaz. Eminem is the obvious success, but the Night Life EP also has some radio friendly material. Out of both of these camps comes the new first female of mainstream, Rah Digga.
Digga’s debut is packed with material designed to appeal to both the backpacker and the junior high girls. The first single, “The Imperial”, is definitely one for the dance floor, but all in all is not that bad even with an awful hook and an annoying appearance by Busta. Mr. Rhymes makes the mistake of saying, “Busa Bus going down as one of the greatest spoken philosophers.” We love you Busta but let’s not get crazy. On the other end of the spectrum are the next two songs, “Curtains” and “Showroom”. The former is a dramatic battle track in which Rah drops some ill lines. “Niggas trying to chew my tampon/ With my pants on/” to me this type of X-rated shit is much more appealing then the self-demoting sex rhymes of Lil’ Kim or Foxy.
The album continues to dwell in this in-between area all the way through to it’s conclusion. If the album's goal was to be one that would both sell records yet not strip Digga of her underground title and devoted listeners, I would say that it succeeded. Songs like the bonus track “Clap Your Hands” and the Primo laced “Lessons Of Today” supply enough hardcore hip-hop beats, concepts and lyricism to quench even the most underground of appetites. Conversely there is a group of songs represented by the singles “The Imperial” and “Do The Ladies Run This” that will certainly appeal to the “mindless saps” at MTV and the rest of the hypnotized world.
This dichotomy really hurts the album. As much as I enjoy a few of the joints on the album, I can never listen to more than a few songs at a time before feeling insulted or bored. Rah spits lines like “Trying to tap into the spirits/ of misguided souls who ain’t checking for the lyrics/” on songs with titles like “Harriet Thugman”(my pick for corniest weak ass title of the year). At one second she is profound and skilled and then the next she acts like your typical moron thug.
This brings up another question. Why is Digga so well regarded in both underground and commercial circles? I would like to think it is due to her skills and merit, but I must say that at least a portion of her acclaim is due to the abysmal state of females in mainstream hip-hop. I’ll admit that part of the reason I was interested in this LP was because I think hip-hop is hurting for some strong female energy, to counteract the sea of self-haters who “clutter up the airwaves.” One could make the argument that this hurts Rah’s evaluations because we are putting the entire fate of mainstream, female hip-hop on her shoulders. However I believe the exact opposite - that we tend to give her undo credit because she is a woman with some skills who doesn’t make an object of herself. To me the only cure for this is to attempt to grade purely as an MC no more and no less. When I do this both her and her LP come out just above average.
-Sayre Piotrkowski
