By Ty
KRS-One has never been one to mince words. Over twenty-five years into his illustrious career, the Blastmaster keeps spitting knowledge at the youngins and waving the flag for Hip-Hop. Over the last few years, Kris has been teaming with a barrage of partners to spread his gospel. Showbiz, Buckshot, and even former adversary Marley Marl have all joined up with tha Teacha. A tag-team with rugged New York boom-bap tough guy Freddie Foxxx is the kind of pairing that has old school heads salivating for some throwback Boogie Down Productions goodness. Their collaborative release Royalty Check attempts to answer the question of whether Bumpy Knucks can rekindle the roughness in the old KRS or will this be just a another soapbox for KRS to spread his gospel?
Right off the bat we almost get our answer. “Street Poison” is a KRS-dominated track that sees Kristyles touching on Hip-Hop’s current state, politics, poverty and everything we associate with his general mission. Bumpy shows up for a quick third verse at the end but we are given the indication that Kris is going to command most of the mic time on this one.
Bumpy’s contributions pack the most punch behind the boards. Evidently, Freddie Foxxx is bona fide producer and his repertoire is on full display on the album. He provides a palette of throwback boom-bap, updated with contemporary elements across the board. Foxxx adds an extra smooth bass-line to “Hip-Hop We Love You,” provides a touch of DJ Quik-esque West Coast funk with “We Don’t Need You” and chops up a smooth vocal sample for Kris to rip on “Just You.” Foxxx provides KRS-One with his best musical backdrops since “Hip Hop Lives.”
He does show up to rip the mic with Kris. “Never” shows the two emcees trading verses back and forth on one of the album’s strongest lyrical showcases. For those who showed up for some of Knuck’s rough and tough rhymes, the back-to-back two-piece of “I’m a Be Back” and “Take Ya Time,” with the latter’s hard-knocking drums, should satisfy most boom bap traditionalists.
KRS-One boasts on the album that Hip-Hop is about innovation and experimentation. He should have practiced more of what he preached. If you have listened to the last dozen or so albums that comprise his post-BDP run, then there are no surprises here. It would have been nice to hear more aggressive track on an album of shared-billing with Bumpy Knuckles as well. It’s never a good idea to reuse a very familiar sample in such an uninspired way, like “Ghetto Bird” does on its “Fly Like An Eagle” chorus.
Everyone isn’t looking for change and consistency is something to salute. The album is a steady offering that should satisfy 90’s Hip-Hop enthusiasts. The production is surprisingly strong, considering its architect and the rhymes are consistently solid if not sublime. There is enough from two veterans, in fine form here, for the two to earn their Royalty Checks.
Out of 5
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