Run DMC remains one of the greatest Hip-Hop groups to ever grace a stage. So, when Rev Run claims he’s coming with “rhymes that you never even heard before,” people are eager to listen. After all, this pioneer is an icon to many, and he can lead the Hip-Hop community into positive roads with his credibility. Nevertheless, some concerns arise from such thoughts. Is he stuck in the 80’s? Could he evolve? Will anyone care? After listening to his new album “Distortion,” the answers are quite clear.
Run, as expected, captures an old school vibe nicely. On “I Used to Think I Was Run,” the veteran emcee takes a trip down memory lane and claims he has “never lost a battle!” He continues his recollections as he laments the tragic loss of Jam Master Jay. In his tribute song “Home Sweet Home,”Run offers an inside look at the man behind the turn tables. .“He was the greatest and he was sharing everything that he earned/and you can count on Jam Master. I was never concerned.” It has a very uplifting and hopeful vibe. The song continues with positive words; “Since hope is where the heart is, homie he’s still here.”
Adding to the nostalgic 80’s feel, Whiteboy, who produced the entire album, creates some impressive tracks. Songs like “Boom Ditty”, “Mind on the Road” and “Breaktime” have drums that bring you back to old days. With heavy knocking drums, and at times, some crazy guitars, these tracks enable Run to flex his old school flow properly. After all, it’d be hard to imagine Run rhyming over a Timbaland beat like “Ugly.”Run needed the proper 80’s setting with music and Whiteboy is able to provide this nicely for the most part.
Unfortunately, staying in the past does nothing for growth. Run’s rhymes border on corny throughout the album. Although he claims to have “rhymes you never even heard before” on “Boom Ditty,” he fails to exemplify this. From the beginning Run shows that he hasn’t truly moved on with the times. On “I Used to think I was Run,” he uses weak phrases like “Rock a rhyme for me and then a rhymes for you. Now everybody catch the buggaloo flu.” He continues spitting lines that would land any emcee in XXL’s“Step Ya Rap Game Up” throughout the album. That’s simply one example of rhymes that truly should have been re-thought. Sadly, this persists throughout and shows that lyrically, Run has failed to evolve.
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When Run steers away from such weak rhymes, he can be quite interesting on the mic. On “Distortion,” he begins with a thunderous, “I got a rhyme for the users, those they call losers/Those that got bruises, Those they call useless…Broke but not foolish.” This adds a much needed introspective side to the album. Unfortunately, even this is brought down by cheesy lines. (“Oopsy Daisy! They call them lazy!”) If that weren’t enough, he does the same on another possibly thoughtful song. “The Way” begins as a great attempt at a prayer for those who need it. As he prays for many impoverished, helpless, downtrodden and lost souls. All hopes that this will be a powerful turning point in the album are shattered by lines like “I’m praying for the sucka, cuz he lookin’ like you!” Here, Run could have hit deep with rhymes that were socially conscious, and actually almost succeeds.
Throughout the album, Run falls short of doing something great. He could have provided insight on the thoughts of a Reverend and maybe spit some positive lines for the youth. Unfortunately, the youth won’t listen to corny rhymes like those displayed here…not unless it is gun talk that is. Furthermore, each track is about 2 minutes long or less and there are only ten songs. Some sound more like snippets than official album cuts. Its way too short, which is fitting. The Rev could have released something groundbreaking, but he fell short.
