Search - Non-Prophets :: Hope

50 Ain't Got Nuthin' On Sage

Filmore Mescalito Holmes | tinymixtapes.com | 03/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Rock & Roll is dead, eh? Yeah, maybe so, but at one point it was a radical, generation defining force. It represented all the important elements of social awareness, free love, government questioning, and everything else at the forefront of globally important personal and social change. Things are different now. Many styles of music have come, gone, and evolved to the point where what sells completely dominates the airwaves and plagues all corners of our collective unconscious. This is where the disk jockey becomes an on-air personality and whose job consists of selecting songs of a label arranged playlist and musical freedom comes with a price tag. Here is where Beyonce, Missy Elliott, Nelly, and countless other super produced voices with nothing to say get fantastically expensive production, sound great, and change nothing while people of effort, integrity, and awareness, whose ideas often contrast the status quo's, remain in the borders to be sought out instead of universally expected, heard, and acted upon. But perhaps this balance of the world is the only way it can be. The way of the world, the one that Non-Prophets MC Sage Francis so honestly describes and viciously criticizes quite justifiably, is the same one that motivates him to do anything in the first place. Hope sounds as fresh as Gangstarr, De La Soul, and Rum DMC did back in the day but brings the fierceness of Rage Against The Machine to this struggling genre of hip-hop. It's a great match between heavily sarcastic, penetrating, and invasive yet highly lyrical and well-spoken words and Blow Your Headphones [Herbaliser] style production. Still, while I like to keep abreast of how pathetic and miserable everything is, which is the main cognitive reason I listen to Bill Hicks, Jello Biafra, Noam Chomsky, and others of that nature, I feel a bit sadistic for taking so much pleasure in it, especially in Sage Francis' case. Perhaps I find comfort in knowing that I'm not the only one who sees the magnitude of how vile things are as well as the brief flashes of beauty in life and art that somehow make it all worthwhile. I know I am not alone."

Time to re-review

deus ex mecca | Miami, FL United States | 01/10/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"it's been a little over 6 months since i got ahold of this cd. my original review was a five-star rating; nothing has changed aside from my appriciation for this album. non-prophets are sage francis on the lyrics and joe beats on the production. i got the priviledge and honor of seeing them live. these guys can put on a show, but this review isn't about their live performances, it's about their music. when i first got this album i was just jumpy and excited because it was so new and so fresh. my first review was written in january of '04. it is not july, near august and i am still excited and jumpy because it is so new and so fresh. this album never ceases to amaze. i had put it away for a while, and recently put it back on heavy rotation. this album is amazing with the production. the beats are groovy, funk, with tads of this, bits of that, and hints of everything else. it is clear that joe beats does not only listen to hip hop, his influences come from everywhere, mixing various types of styles. the beats can almost be reminiscent of old school beats with a hint of modern upgrade. sage francis, what can i say? this man is a genius. his lyrical style is amazing, he is not afraid to speak truth. his truths aren't of complaining about his life (not all of them anyways). his truth are of what we see in society as far as media, finance, social life, everything. he can flow, he can spit, he can do it all. his delivery is smooth, at times it feels like he is speaking to you, giving a surreal feel to the songs. a very thought provoking sound is "the cure." tracks like "any port" and "damage" give you a very energic feel, very intense in terms of song content and he comes right in your face. "fresh" is also a very nice song with a fun hook. they can bring the funk, they can bring fun, with poetic meaning, and deep-dope rhymes. this has to be one of the greatest underground hip hop albums."

I'm searching for a cure...

syke | San Jose | 02/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For bad hiphop, and I found it. For as long as I remember, Sage Francis has been the sickest MC to lay down vocals. His "Still Sick" series of CD's collect some original songs, radio apperances and freestyles, and "Personal Journals" is easily one of the greatest hiphop albums of all time, and now this. "Hope" takes off where Journals left us and elevates the listener even further. Many waited skeptically for the follow up to Journals, and they weren't let down at all. The cd hasn't left my car stereo since I bought it. Every track is classic. So many different styles and themes from Sage, and Joey Beats has laid out some awesome tracks for Sage to lay the knowledge on. Sage hits on so many issues, every time you listen to a song you hear something you didn't before. Lot's of references to other artists, current issues, and Sage's own philosophy of the art. Long story short, if you're as sick at the state of hiphop/rap as I am, "Hope" is easily "The Cure". You won't be dissapointed. "My god, has it come to this...I'm the Spaceman".
My favorite tracks: New Word Order, Spaceman, Mainstream 307, Tolerance Level."