Fred Lynch
Gimmie Tha Planet
Reviewed by Jamie Lee Rake
Longtime fans of righteous rap will recall Preachas, and would like to forget the circumstances of the group's dissolution last year. It's still baffling exactly what went down, apart from one members' defection to The Nation Of Islam. It's tempting to quote the Marines and let God sort it out (which, ultimately, He will). It appears the Lord has already sorted Fred Lynch back into the camp of Godly m.c.'s determined to make their sanctified hip-hop as innovative as the mainstream competition. It's ironic that, being a Texan, Lynch hasn't found more inspiration (musically) in the Houston gangsta-isms of The Geto Boys and their ilk. That's rectified some by the musical subtlety of "Daily Bread" and the way "Come Back Here" (is that an Elmer Fudd sample?) summons the smirking eeriness of Scarface and Bushwick Bill. Elsewhere, Lynch kicks with variations of the mellowy gritty fonk that has made East Coast kingpins (Wu-Tang Clan, Black Moon) toasts of the 'hood. The way he keeps using kitschy TV references (from What's Happening to The Simpsons) and good-natured cartoon demon bashing to make his case is as original as anything in Christian shop racks. Less heartening are comments from his collaborators, like the "anti-fag" slam by a posse member on "I Don't Give A Foot." Sure, you oughtta hate the sin, but then there's the part about loving the sinner, right? Caveats like that aside, Gimme Tha Planet proves that street-burned beauty can come out of an ugly demise.