With Sean Price's new album, Jesus Price Supastar, in stores, it's a good time to look back at the third release from Price's Boot Camp Clik posse, The Last Stand, one of the top albums of last year that got way too little shine.
There were no platinum (or even gold) numbers for The Last Stand, no videos on "TRL's" top 10 countdown, and the lead single "Yeah" didn't make heavy rotation on hip-hop radio. But as most hip-hop heads know, mainstream love doesn't equate to quality -- BCC fashion is strictly fatigues and the beats and rhymes are equally durable.
The production on The Last Stand is tight throughout, from the piercing strings on "Yeah" to the semi-melancholy, old-school sound on "Here We Come" and "1,2,3," a classic Pete Rock joint. It's also good to hear Rock back on tracks, growling his way through verses and even taking over chorus duties on "...But Tha Game Iz Still Tha Same."
"So Focused" is a slight misstep that wastes a strong beat with some frivolous rhymes, but those rhymes are a reminder of how frivolous the rest of the album is not.
Unlike most modern-day rappers, who seem to have hip-hop confused with a combination shootout/fashion show, Boot Camp delivers thoughtful, rugged tracks like "He Gave His Life" and the album's final cut, the aptly-titled "Soul Jah" that explore—gasp—reality.
The posse element and extended metaphor remain key elements of the group, like a military version of the Wu-Tang Clan sent to do battle on social ignorance and wack rappers.
If The Last Stand is any indication, the Camp is still marching for hip-hop's essence.
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