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The Brand Nubian 'movement' could have folded after Grand Puba opted out after their first album(the classic "All For One"). Thankfully, just two years after the debut, Lord Jamar and Sadat X returned, along with DJ Sincere, carrying on the Brand Nubian name and the teachings of the 5% of Islam. Here, you get to know Sadat and Jamar much better, since Puba had so much solo time on the debut album. Sadat X's nasaly, high-pitched voice and fluctuating quick flow is a perfect contrast to Lord Jamar's strong and steady flow. Yes, this album is much darker than "All For One." They do reference guns and physical violence often throughout, and the swearing increases ten-fold. I'm not complaining, just addressing the differences.
This is such are different LP than "All For One," so one listen will not be enough to judge and comprehend. The biggest hits back in its day from this album were "Love Me or Leave Me Alone" and "Punks Jump Up To Get Beat Down," both memorable. There are a couple worthwhile inclusions here, like "Meaning of the 5%," just a recording of a powerful speech on the topic(Farrakan?), and "Allah and Justice," which has just singing and praising. They kick up the intensity on bangers like "Travel Jam" and "Brand Nubian Rock The Set," both pretty good. "Pass The Gat" is an angry jam, one I don't mind too much. "Steal Ya Ho" seemed like just filler to me(they get freaky here), and "Steady Bootleggin'" wasn't too interesting, but at least they try a different topic. "Black Star Line" contains some really solid lyrics from Sadat and Jamar, but Red Foxx's reggae style just goes on and on and on and nearly ruins the song.
"Ain't No Mystery" was easily the strongest song, I thought. Also "Black and Blue" was noteworthy: a dark, telltale track about cop and black-on-black violence. I really liked the music on this one! The other two standouts were "Allah U Akbar" and "The Godz(Must Be Crazy)." The LP is more mellow than "All For One," although some jams were included. I found that pretty much all the tracks had something good about them in their own ways. Brand Nubian began to get very militant about their religious beliefs. I'm wondering if their religion really supports excessive swearing, radical physical violence, smoking ganja, and sleeping with whomever, whenever, like Brand Nubain offers.
While I didn't miss Grand Puba's presence on "In God We Trust," I will agree that something seemed to be missing in the Brand Nubian vibe and chemistry here. I think that this was a new Brand Nubian, and they still excelled given the circumstances. Hard to say which of them tear it up more, both Sadat and Jamar have their shining moments. This shouldn't be one of the first albums to start your old-school Hiphop collection, but keep your eye out for it every time you go to the store.
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