| Product Summary | | Label: Razor And Tie Records | | UPC: 00793018288828 | | Release Date: 5/6/2003 | | Buy.com Sku: 60597543 | | Item#: MVYYXN | Format:  CD |
|
|
|
|
| Song Listing |  |
Disc 1
| | Song Title | Sample | | 1. Day In The Life, A - (featuring Dave Chappelle) ~ Prince Paul |  | | 2. Popmaster Intro - (featuring Popmaster) ~ Prince Paul | | | 3. Make Room - (featuring Mally G/Erick Sermon/Sy Scott) ~ Prince Paul | | | 4. Drive By, The ~ Prince Paul | | | 5. So What - (featuring Kokane/Masta Ace/Pretty Ugly) ~ Prince Paul | | | 6. Drama Queen - (featuring Dave (De La Soul)/Truth Enola) ~ Prince Paul | | | 7. Not Tryin' To Hear That - (featuring Guru/Planet Asia) ~ Prince Paul | | | 8. Politics Of The Business - (featuring Chuck D/Ice-T) ~ Prince Paul | | | 9. Original Crhyme Pays - (featuring Tash/The Beatnuts/Tony Touch) ~ Prince Paul | | | 10. What I Need - (featuring Kardinal Offishall/Sly Boogie) ~ Prince Paul | | | 11. Princepaulonline.com ~ Prince Paul | | | 12. Controversial Headlines - (Champion Sound Pt. 1, featuring Horror City) ~ Prince Paul | | | 13. Beautiful Absurd - (featuring W Ellington Felto/K' Alyn) ~ Prince Paul | | | 14. Controversial Headlines - (Champion Sound Pt. 2, featuring Horror City/Jean Grae) ~ Prince Paul | | | 15. Chubb Rock Can You Please Pay Paul The $2200 You Owe Him - (People, Places And Things, featuring Chubb Rock/Wordsworth/MF Doom) ~ Prince Paul | | | 16. Life In The Day, A - (featuring Dave Chappelle) ~ Prince Paul | |
|
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. | | Personnel includes: Prince Paul, Prince Paul Jr., Dave Chappelle, Biz Markie, Popmaster, Mally G, Erick Sermon, Sy Scott, Kokane, Masta Ace, Pretty Ugly, Dave, Truth Enota, Guru, Planet Asia, Chuck D, Ice-T, Tash, The Beatnuts, Tony Touch, Kardinal Offishall, Sly Boogie, Horror City, W. Ellington Felton, K'Alyn, Jean Grae, Chubb Rock, Wordsworth, MF Doom. | | This is an Enhanced CD, which contains both regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. | | Personnel: Prince Paul (scratches); Chris Rock, Belinda Thompson, Jazzy Jeff, John Nelson , Mr. Len, Biz Markie (vocals); Scott Harding (guitar); Jennifer Birsamyn Buenafe (violin). | | Audio Mixer: Prince Paul. | | Arranger: Prince Paul. | | Creatively speaking, Prince Paul reached a career high point with A Prince Among Thieves, but he had a monstrously difficult time assembling the follow-up. Preceded by a four-year wait and a change of labels, Politics of the Business is essentially a concept album about following up a concept album, one whose glowing reviews weren't matched by its sales. Aiming for the bottom line in response, yet with tongue planted in cheek, Paul's productions on Politics are mostly forays into the "hip pop" sound he alludes to in the liner notes. Lyrically, however, his guest rappers -- a mix of current underground heroes, neglected old-school figures, and up-and-comers -- spend their time blasting hip-hop's commercialism and easy betrayals. There are bits of effective satire along the way (Dave Chappelle is hilarious as a label exec), and a handful of terrific moments that offer sly twists on current urban radio trends. But as a whole, Politics of the Business never quite jells into the cohesive statement it wants to be. Too much of the music sounds strangely dispirited; not that it's awful -- it just lacks the spark and energy you'd expect from an artist who, even when he's off, is rarely anything less than interesting. Speaking through his mouthpieces, Paul sounds weary and bitter; even if you agree with his observations on the rap industry, it's hard to relate when his concerns get so insular elsewhere. The liner notes sigh about 9/11 and his neighbors' annoying dog in the same breath, and the title of "Chubb Rock Can You Please Pay Paul the $2200 You Owe Him" feels more awkward than bitingly funny (what's more, it recycles the backing track from De La Soul's "Pease Porridge"). It's touches like those, along with too many tracks that just don't register all that much, that make Politics of the Business feel depressingly cynical and half-hearted. Prince Paul is still one of hip-hop's most overlooked geniuses, but it's disheartening to hear him so disheartened. ~ Steve Huey | | After a four-year hiatus, POLITICS OF THE BUSINESS finds Prince Paul biting the musical hand that's fed him with a string of parody skits mercilessly skewering the symbiotic relationship between hip-hop and the music industry. An all-star roster of guests from the worlds of music and comedy helps the Amityville, NY native achieve his vision. Right out of the gate, comedian Dave Chappelle takes on the persona of a two-faced record exec on "A Day in the Life," going from unconditional support of an album project to scorn in the span of a year, reflecting a true-life scenario from Paul's experiences. | | Other notable names kicking it include Chuck D. and Ice T, delivering spoken-word diatribes about music business realities on the title cut. Chris Rock serves as a huckster announcer on the faux commercial "Princepaulonline.com," and Gang Starr's DJ Premier offers hope for hip-hop's future on "The Word." Prince Paul packs plenty of grooves on this outing, from Horror City using "Controversial Headlines (Champion Sound)" to skewer the likes of Ray-J, Lil' Kim, and Destiny's Child, to Guru doing the same to labels that don't support their artists on "Not Trying to Hear That." |
Producer: Harry Allen; Mr. Len; Prince Paul |
Engineer: Prince Paul |
Musical Guests | | Ice-T | | Biz Markie | | The Beatnuts | | Chubb Rock | | Dave Chappelle | | Popmaster | | Erick Sermon | | Mally G | | Sy Scott | | Kokane | | Masta Ace | | Pretty Ugly | | Dave (De La Soul) | | Truth Enola | | Guru | | Planet Asia | | Chuck D | | Tash | | Tony Tony Touch | | Kardinal Offishall | | Sly Boogie | | Hor |
| | Artist Overview | | Producer/DJ Prince Paul debuted at the age of 17 with Brooklyn-based hip-hop band Stetsasonic. The inventor of the album skit, Paul produced De La Soul's first three LPs and his influence is strongly felt--from the diverse sample sources to the playful, story-telling approach. Prince Paul went on to produce for a wide range of artists from the world of hip-hop and beyond--3rd Bass, Big Daddy Kane, Vernon Reid, Princess Superstar, and Chris Rock are but a few--and famously collaborate with the RZA (Gravediggaz) and Dan the Automator (Handsome Boy Modelling School). His off-kilter solo debut, PSYCHOANALYSIS: WHAT IS IT? (1997), explores Paul's experiences with therapy while 1999's A PRINCE AMONG THIEVES is a singular opus--a hip-hop opera with MCs as character actors. |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 05/06/2003 | | Original Release Date : 2003 | | Catalog ID : 82888 | | Label : Razor & Tie Music | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00793018288828 |
|
| | Professional Reviews | | Rolling Stone (5/29/03, p.60)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "...As Dave Chappelle, Erick Sermon and others serve up cheap laughs and good rhymes, Paul updates his signature sound for the new millennium..."Uncut (6/03, p.111)
- 5 stars out of 5 - "...It all works....The unknown collaborators are great....Even the skits are funny. All that is good in hip hop is here..." The Wire (6/03, p.69)
- "...Years of adversity and disillusionment with the biz haven't extinguished Prince Paul's sense of mischief or his creative itch..." The Source (6/03, p.140)
- "...While it's some of his most accessible work, it's also his downright funkiest to date....Paul's collection spews vitriol for the industry atop beats anyone would be silly not to embrace..." |
|
| |
|
|
