High Risk
label: asylum | daybyday

producers: jon doe, james scienide, dj cheapshot, mf doom, zo, untamed, asprin, applejac, others.

guests: lil sci & id4windz (scienz of life), stacey epps & u-george (the hemisphere), stahhr da f.e.m.c.e.e., others.
year of release: 2002
website: prophetix.net
 
Three. That's the magic number. One DJ. Two Emcees. Like Run-D.M.C. (R.I.P. JMJ). Like Public Enemy. Like Company Flow. Like The 7A3. Okay, the one extra emcee might be a luxury, considering the magic formula of one DJ and one Emcee (think Gang Starr, Eric B & Rakim, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince), but two is more interesting and versatile than one. And Prophetix are three and there's little wrong with a threesome, if it's between Eddie Meeks (of "Larger Than Life" fame), Mello Melanin and Jon Doe, as long as we don't have to watch. Or so the saying goes. "High Risk!" is the name of the game and while they don't offer a musical bungee jump (there's too much solid about this), this album is a mid speed crazy taxi ride from the bridge to the botanical garden.
What then translated into plain language means as much as iron your Starter gear, cause we're going back ten years. Go back there and still stick around here, because as much as this has the flavour of back then, it's doubtful if an album like this would have been possible back then. What's to mean that however strong the traditional vibe is, this album's nothing dated. So gulp down the milk, it's fresh, fresh, fresh. Sometimes right off the cow, and only few times a little icky.

tracklisting
1. Intro
2. Who Is This?
3. Bigguns
4. True Urban Grit (T.U.G.)
5. Gravitatin' feat. Mahogany Brown
6. Quitters
7. Doe Interlude #1
8. Crispus Attucks
9. Prophetionals
10. Shatter feat. Lil Sci & ID4Windz (Scienz Of Life), Stacey Epps & U-George (The Hemisphere)
11. Impressive Presentationals feat. Stahhr Da F.E.M.C.E.E.
12. High Risk!
13. Supthin's Gotta Give
14. Brace Yo Self
15. Doe Interlude #2
16. Unstoppable
17. It's A Shame
18. Grudge Match feat. Grizz, James Scienide, Untamed (Lost N Found Dept.)
19. Respect Your Flesh
20. Pie On Ya Face
21. We Do What We Do
22. Guestlist
The one time where you can almost here mooing in the back is "Gravitatin'", a Mello Melanin solo cut, where he speaks about women over a beautiful Jon Doe beat. The beat is so smooth, you can call it lubrication (Kwest holler at me!), the vibes are so right, they'd vote for Buchanan, if that wouldn't be wrong. Mello just flows and flows and speaks, portrays, draws, mocks, loves and then finds shakes his head clear again. Hooking up with Stahhr Da F.E.M.C.E.E. on "Impressive Presentationals", that song comes good too, as Jon Doe provides the right beat for some introspectivity. While helping in the case of a headache, Aspirin then only causes slight neck trouble, as his beat on "Unstoppable" is putting a medium nodfactor forward, that's coupled with strong bragging and belittling verses. The vibe however is still friendly, and the style gets a little rougher with "It's A Shame" and 'uhm, you talkin' to me'.
Eddie Minks speaks the veterans experience on "Respect Your Flesh", dismissing the thought that sex can ever mean not too much. This is followed by "Pie On Ya Face", before DJ Cheapshot finds the head bobbin' button. He turns it on manic, and matches it with the appropriate "We De What We Do" song. This gives away much of the party aesthetic of Prophetix, while the "Guestlist" digs into the topic of them being good, and well known and then some, in a real way. This is talking to the ugly bunny, petting the brokened fur.
With us offering only the cream of the cake, the layers underneath it are just as delicious. Like the "Who Is This?" cut, where the fellers talk and brag and James Scienide kicks something out that kicks nicely itself. There are massive horns on "Bigguns" a distinctive summer vibe on "Quitters" where Meeks gives us the braggadocios potion. On "Shatter" a number of emcees rub shoulder, with Lil Sci and ID4Windz of Scienz Of Life, Stacey Epps and U-George (The Hemisphere) step up to give their southern discomfort. The strings carry "High Risk!" and the MF Doom produced "Sumpthin's Gotta Give", with the latter being especially dope.
And it only gets a little boring on "True Urban Grit (T.U.G.)" and "Crispus Attucks" where the song is trapped within a formula, while the story telling lyrics are done quite well. "Prophetionals" is a little bit held back by the Adams family beat and the posse cut "Grudge Match" with Lost N Found Dept's Grizz, James Scienide and Untamed is then strongly messed up by Untamed's beat. Nevertheless the album is fun and that's fresh.
review: tadah
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