Black Ice, The Death of Willie Lynch

Black Ice starts his new album, The Death of Willie Lynch, with a prayer — as if he needs it. With lyrics that openly criticize the superficiality and ignorance of the “gangsta” mentality, as well as the holes in the American Dream, Black Ice joins a burgeoning group of lyrical hip-hop poet rappers searching for something greater than wealth, but bolder than violence. Like Black Thought of The Roots and Mos Def, Black Ice rails against the corporate hip-hop that represents the apathy of the corporate world with regard to the poor or downtrodden. “It’s a beautiful world we live in / But the ugly ones push the buttons,” he avers, reflecting the anger of a generation of intelligent rappers disillusioned by commercialism, exploitation, and the glorification of the drug-and-thug life that causes the death of so many bright young men. Songs like “Dream Transferred” and “Front Page” evince Black Ice’s connection to African-American roots from the Harlem Renaissance and his own roots in Philadelphia, while songs such as “The Real” and “Hoodwatch” bump with beats so progressive that they could have come from The Mars Volta. As a radical album, the The Death of Willie Lynch stands strongly, and Black Ice brings in excellent talent to feature on the album, making it a good conglomeration of facts and material. Warning, though: if you buy it, you might even learn something.