★★★★★
New York's Treacherous Three were arguably the first hip-hop collective to get that tricky mix of rock and rap just right; after signing to Sugar Hill in 1981, they were poised to follow the likes of The Furious Five as more political, outspoken rappers. By the mid-80s, however, they'd become parodies, releasing Christmas-themed singles and generally losing pace. Kool Moe Dee, one of the three principal lyricists, wisely broke free to work with producer Teddy Riley...
- www.recordcollectormag.com
2011-08-15
★★★★★
Volume 2 not for the artist, but for his label's new catalogue exploitation; nine of the 12 tracks also appear on Moe Dee's 1994 best-of, with which it shares its inferiority to his first two solo albums. But the three additions--"Knowledge Is King," "Funke Wisdom," "The Avenue"--show off his brainy independence. Both comps fulfill their destiny. This one goes in the changer.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
back in command ("Funke Wisdom," "Rise 'n' Shine," "Death Blow)
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
His beats grander, his samples funkier, his cadences harder, Moe Dee not only ain't no joke, he's lost his sense of humor. He's feeling his age, has something to prove: all that gladiatorial imagery sounds pretty defensive...
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
This safe, sane 15-track summation is sufficient to the old-school veritas of Mohandas Dewese's declaratory beat. It don't stop, and it don't stop. But on his first two albums, and more explicitly if less consistently later, he was also a bridge to the conscious rap that made the old school seem so elementary. How ya like him now depends on how well ya knew him back when.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
Sex is this Threacherous Third's only great subject, and before you tell him to grow up already, check out the dumb hyperbole of "Monster Crack" and bite your tongue. His braggadocio and jibes at the fair sex also won't mollify liberals, but that's even less the point than it usually is. This man boasts for the sheer joy and truth value of it...
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
As a solitary rapper of the old school, locked into praising his own dick, mouth, and brain, Moe Dee doesn't have much room to stretch, but does he make the most out of it. He never lets the jaunty, out-of-kilter swing generated by his electronic percussion lie there--trick rhymes, variable lengths, filters, double tracks, sung refrains, and the occasional extra instrument all work to shift the beat without undercutting its dominance...
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
A widely respected "old school artist" (meaning one of the founding fathers of rap), this New York-based veteran has been rhyming in the public eye longer than any other working rapper today, after debuting with thelegendary Treacherous Three back in 1981. With his fourth solorecord, Kool Moe Dee is attempting to return to the platinum statusof his second, How Ya Like Me Now, after his third, 1989's KnowledgeIs King, didn't sell quite as well. Funke, Funke Wisdom should do thetrick...
- ew.com
2009-06-12
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