Pharoahe Monch and Styles P are two underground heroes who address social issues without sounding preachy or lame.  The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Arnaud Arbery touched off weeks of civil unrest and shit has hit the fan. We used to be able to assume that rappers would respond, but Hip-Hop’s CNN of the streets tag is long gone. Luckily, Pharoahe Monch is for the people. Same Shit Different Toilet properly encapsulates the tightly coiled emotion of 2020.

The Marco Polo-produced track is punctuated by A horror movie tensioned dithering key drives the Marco Polo-Produced track. A much more dense lower end key runs alongside a hard kick and snare for heft and an anxious energy. Pharoahe’s trademark melodic vocals add the pinch of soul necessary for a song that addresses theses issues.

We hear the themes of the aware: the Klu Klux Klan, the government-sponsored flooding of Black neighborhoods with drugs, lynchings, and burning crosses. The PTSD and the rage that accompany long-term exposure to America. Trying to protect and raise a family in the middle of this scenario. Even wondering if you should have even had a family, while praying to a God you hope exists. Do you respond with tears or bullets?

Styles P adds enough gruff to prevent this from becoming overwrought while maintaining the emotional tumult. He acknowledges the trauma of being exposed to the barrage of dead black man videos and images. Ghost aligns Trump with the KKK and compares prison to slave ships. The near-daily assault is enough to make a man crumble.

Same Shit Different Toilet is a reminder that Hip-Hop remains as potent as ever in translating Black pain to the masses. It’s nice to know that while the turmoil is the same old story, rap music is still here to tell it like it is and convey the story of the people over hard beats. Enjoy.