Saul Williams - The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust (20 tracks) +Album Reviews

The Return of the Grippo King

Marcos F. Hernandez | Chicago, Illinois | 07/09/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With the invention of the Niggy Tardust persona Saul Williams has escalated his performance far beyond the traditional role of the MC. He's birthed Niggy as some kind of spectral shaman over a ritual of reflection on the past, present, and future of Hip-Hop, but more than that, he makes the ritual fun. Saul's overwhelming live charisma transfers over to disc with little impact lost.

This collaboration with Trent Reznor and CX KiDTRONiK among others pushes genre boundaries while hearkening back to the Bomb Squad production of early Public Enemy proving that, in the right hands, Hip-Hop can still be a tool of liberation."

Saul Williams for Vice President

D. Gladden | Muskegon, MI | 07/23/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Saul Williams is making a righteous statement with this album, and it seems that many people have missed the point. The rap industry has dumbed down its most prominent figures into n-words, the very thing many of its artists have been fighting against in their poetry. Subtly stated in the chorus of the satirical opening track, "The banana peels are carefully placed", Saul is pointing out that the state of mainstream rap is just waiting for the artist to slip and fall back into the unevolved, simian craving for "money cash hoes". I have always believed there is a difference between rap and hip-hop. Hip-hop to me has a more positive connotation, with progressive lyricists such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Common cutting paths underground to shed a positive, open-minded message. Saul is among these leaders in the hip-hop genre.

Let's not forget that Saul was the first semi-well known artist to release his album online exclusively. Yes, months before radiohead, and about a year before his co-conspirator Trent Reznor, this was the initial slap in the face to the music industry.

The dark pulse of Trent Reznor driven beats is the perfect backdrop for the dark message Saul is trying to convey. Unless he completely sells out, he will never "team with a big name producer"; he represents the anti-mainstream. Key tracks such as "Black History Month", "Tr(n)igger", "Niggy Tardust", "Raised to Be Lowered", and "The Ritual" demonstrate the theme of his concept album perfectly. Quoted from the song "Niggy Tardust" - "When I say Niggy, you say nothing. Niggy - NOTHING! Shut up." There's another person who missed the point.

As a twenty-something white male, I feel that Saul's political poetry stands alongside Barack Obama in pushing racism back into the 20th century. Ignore the naysayers, and do not ignore this album."

Very good and emotional CD

Cody D. Seaton | Amarillo, TX USA | 10/14/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was turned on to Williams at the Oklahoma City NIN show in 2006. I was very impressed of Saul's live show. I was eager to hear him and Trent were going to make a recorded together later in the year. I downloaded the album once it was available from NIN website and I have not stopped listening to it since. I am trying to get my hands on his other two albums because I want to hear what else he has to say.

I have to many favorite songs on this album so I can only tell you to listen to the whole thing. Get some good liquor and turn off the lights do something artist with this album. It will make you feel good in the end. The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust is a must buy."

A revelation

Lucas Desjardins | Grenoble, FRANCE | 09/09/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"(I'm French, please excuse the limitedness of my skills...)

I'd never heard of Saul Williams before this record. I wasn't really much into hip-hop, anyway. Well, on the other hand, I'm a NIN fan, so...

Thanks to the efforts of Mr. Reznor, I heard of the digital release of 'The Rise & Liberation of Niggy Tardust!'. I was quite thrilled at first at what could be seen as an Internet-scale experiment, with the 'pay and support an artist/don't pay but please spread the word' choice, etc.

So I was in.

And I didn't regret it. It even became of one those 'soundtrack of your life' albums you never stop listening to for months.

The NIN sound trademark is quite obvious throughout the album, especially with compositions such as 'WTF!' (where Trent Reznor makes a short guest appearance on vocals) and almost all of the five or six last tracks, replete with tortured sounds of strings, overdriven harmonies and bizarre beats. Despite this, the range of Reznor's talent and tastes allows much more than a NIN album with Saul Williams on vocals. Again, the sound production on this album shows the versatility of Reznor's work.

A blend of heavy hip-hop, old-school jazzy hip-hop, massive industrial beats, light, aerial melodies, grinding noises, and a more experimental aspect of fusion between poetry and rhythm; all of this sewn together by the poet himself, Saul Williams, equally at ease when rapping and singing his meaningful lyrics.

I cannot really compare this work to Saul Williams' previous ones, as I never listened to them... But I've got a more important criterion. This isn't an easy-to-listen album. You listen to it once, you put it aside for a week. Then you gradually come back to it, learning how to listen to it, realizing its qualities, enjoying while analyzing... That type of revelation doesn't happen all the time.

The alliance of the two musicians, the two universes, the two styles, produced a very interesting result, quite unique a mixture. It was a great discovery, to say the least.

Hat tip to the artists."

Pure poetry

Lost Johnny | China | 06/02/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a superb album. If all hip hop was this good....

"Niggy Tardust" is not just hip hop but also combines elements of industrial rock and other genres in a very artistically pleasing way. Both the sound and the lyrics are inspiring. The subject matter may not be comfortable for some but we need to listen anyway. Saul Williams is political and that's the way he should be."

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