Wise Intelligent – Talented Timothy Taylor

Ok… Wise Intelligent. Tough call. I don’t
like the production. I don’t dislike the production, but I don’t
really like it either. Seems scattered. Little bit o’ rock n roll…. little bit
of soul. Dude is obviously concerned, and spends a lot of time yelling. Without
exception, Wise sounds very, very rehearsed. Fortunately, the
lyrical content is on point. I feel him on not living in the past. In fact, “Still Black”
is gonna go over a lot of people’s heads. I haven’t heard an artist sound like
he was really expressing himself in a minute. Still, if I wanted to feel guilty
I’d go to church. No, for real, “Still Black” is gonna go over a lot of people’s heads.

I didn’t know Nicole Richie was black.

I’m kinda tired of people coming up with cool-sounding names for the ghetto.
It’s not the PJs, it’s not the Jects; it’s the ghetto. And if “This is Love,”
then I don’t know a damn thing about it. Sounds more like infatuation to me.
What about the stupid fights and the bitterness? Where is the regret and the
pampers? That shit ain’t love.

“Intelligent
Wise” is nice… it’s refreshing to hear an emcee bragging about his
intellect rather than his rims. On the other hand people who brag are usually
just trying to convince themselves…which might explain the unnecessarily big
words. “Set U
Free” is pure knowledge. Was that a shot at Jay-Z?
Tough to tell through all the bootleg production.

Is this a double-disc? Twenty-three tracks is a lot. True, there are five
skits. By the way, the fourth skit is worth mentioning. It’s actual police
audio of a black woman being tazed after being pulled over for suspended tags.
The clip sounds a lot like brutality, but the video (which you can
peep on YouTube) clearly tells another story. “Police Can Do”
is still dope though. And “Barnes & Noble” is a brilliant shout-out to all the
guys out there who meet chicks at bookstores to study.

“Cold World”
is sick. I could’ve done without all the biblical references to prophecy about
how the world is coming to an end, but then again I like how he stepped-up his
flow for the finale. Timothy Taylor is talented, that’s for
sure. Somehow I keep getting the feeling that rap is just not his thing.

Like he’s actually wasting his real talent by putting energy into putting
rhymes together.

All that intellect, er, intelligence seems a bit wasted. For one, the lyrics
are way tighter than the delivery. It’s like eating a gourmet meal that’s
gotten cold. For two, he’s pretty serious. I guess there’s lots to think about.
In fact, Wise Intelligent Iz…The Talented Timothy Taylor is only part
one of a seven-part CD box set.

Maybe Mr. Taylor can bring smart back for a change.