“If I had to choose, take speech over sight/’Cause I’d still be spittin’ my views.” This quotable from Boston, Massachusetts emcee Black ELement [click to listen] really tells you everything you need to know about him. With a style reminiscent of (but sufficiently different from) Talib Kweli [click to read], Black ELement immediately grabs you with his thoughtful lyricism and a commitment to remaining genuine.
A Major Minority is most certainly in the minority these days as Black ELement strays from gun and drug talk, instead electing to speak on everyday trials and tribulations, often with a touch of humor. On “The Burbs,” he rhymes: “So the next time you visit, or go out to lunch/You can find me next door to the Brady Bunch/I’ll be outside with Marsha smokin’ a blunt/The rest of ’em want to get some after we done/…But, I ain’t about that/It’s not me/I’d rather smoke grass that the Cosbys got me/Shhhh! Don’t talk about drugs in suburbia/Mary Jane, cocaine, we never heard of ya!“
“Headaches” is decidedly one of the more serious tracks on A Major Minority. BE delves into his past as he recounts experiences with his parents: “My pops a drug addict or an alcoholic, I can’t call it/But he spends half his day talkin’ to the toilet/He enjoy it ’cause he there every morning/Saying he can’t stop without the cops’ warnin/…My mom’s a deep sleeper, she hits the bass deeper/Like Aretha she needs a little respect/But like Tina, he strangles her neck.” With such deeply personal lyrics, it’s a shame that the song is nearly ruined by an atrocious hook (thankfully an uncommon issue with this album).
As slick and enjoyable as Black ELement‘s lyrics and flow are, the production is a significant disappointment. It never rises above fairly good, and at several junctures, it’s incredibly hackneyed. “Can’t Call It” just plods along; and while “You Can’t Hide (Wake Up)” boasts a funky bounce and the eccentric percussion and samples of “The Stickup Kid?!?!” are among the better instances of production, neither are particularly memorable. The problem here isn’t that the beats are bad, per se – just that none manage to make much of an impression.
Poor production or otherwise, one thing never comes into question on A Major Minority Quick-witted(“Like Dick Vitale/My 16s are sweet“), funny, and thought-provoking all at once, Black ELement has a very promising future in Hip Hop. A Major Minority may not pop up on many heads’ radar, but for those seeking an artist whose content doesn’t include Mafioso-inspired delusions of grandeur, Black ELement is a refreshing new alternative.
