M.O.P. Forever and Always
"Forever and Always" is the anchor bolt embedded in Foundation. Were you unfamiliar with Warriorz, Firing Squad, First Family 4 Life, you'd understand MOP's entire aesthetic in four minutes flat. Sure, there's something trite about a "we still ain't changed" track from a pair of New York 90s stalwarts who rap like Brownsville was a Bessemer Process. But what else do you want from the Mash Out Posse? Crisp jeans and a button-up? Sinatra at the opera? Fame claims he's "still in the hood with a dusty-ass .38, childhood friends gone, body after body." Sentimentalizing on St. Mark's Ave, the radio bumping EPMD, going to kindergarten with Smooth Da Hustla (presumably packing #2 pencils.) Evolution is imperative for some artists, less so for others. Had Kanye kept the backpack rhyme book and the college motif, he'd be doing guest-spots on the new Kidz in the Hall jaunt. But to the gun-clapping gang behind www.iwillfuckyouup.com, switching up is tantamount to selling out. Has anyone ever been gullier than Danze and Womack? 50 was probably plying them with scads of G-Unit cash and still, Fame's teeth stay looking like unpopped popcorn kernels.We are the better for this. Even the most minor encroach of trends and technology on Foundation feel forced--see Demarco's second-tier Ron Browz facsimile on "Street Life" that feels dated on its week of release. When they stick to the brick-bat basics, they thrive. This is iron-lunged, saber-toothed carnivore rap to pump iron or flash it. There are a few skippable tracks, and Premier's presence on all but one track is sorely missed (though Statik Selektah does a more than serviceable impression). More often than not, Danzini and Fame bring enough aggravated fury to cause you to fail blood pressure exams--see anti-gentrification anthem, "Brooklyn," the self-explanatory Styles P-aided "Bang Time," and street single, "Blow the Horns." Foundation might not be a classic, but it's the sort of album you want M.O.P. to make forever and always (no Vandross). * Or as it was originally called, "The parts of Brooklyn that Williamsbearders must avoid after dark." Download: MP3: M.O.P.-"Forever and Always" MP3: M.O.P. ft. Redman-”Riding Through” (Left-Click)