Album Review- Dead Prez - Information Age

Dead Prez is one of my favorite groups and I've said this before, they bring something different with a polished revolutionary doctrine that  can be a turn off, but unlike most guys with their style and message, they can actually rap and produce good music. Stic.Man released an album in 2010 about being healthy and focusing just on the act of working out and getting some balance in your body and spirit. The duo is back together for an unexpected release, "Information Age".



For people who aren't familiar with Dead Prez, they might be shocked by the sonic feel of the first song , "A New Beginning" which sounds like it could have been one of the album tracks on Katy Perry's Teenage Dream album but therein lies the greatness of Dead Prez. They can take a polished pop sounding track and transform it with lyrics about the direction the world is going in as the chorus says, 'the end of the world is a new beginning'. Things change and M1 and Stic.Man preach on being prepared for self. This is nowhere more evident than on "What if the Lights Go Out" where starting with a play on the lack of help during Hurricane Katrina, Dead Prez ask the listener what would they do when something happens to them. Will you be prepared?


The funky sonic sounds continue on "Dirty White Girl" where Dead Prez describes a bunch of things that are white that can cause you problems both physical and mental, from milk to cocaine and cheese. The underlying theme is also about the government and politics of this country as well. "No Way As The Way" shows that why they have strong convictions, they aren't the type to put down others for their choices, because there is no one hundred percent way to know whose choices are the 'correct' ones but there are many paths to choose. "Learning Growing Changing" is about the journey for self and continuing to try to better yourself by listening and by teaching. "Time Travel" is a cool song and "Take Me To The Future" is just about possibly seeing and realizing that change. it's a very mellow song that you can listen to with the windows down.

"The Awakening" is a rebirth for the listener of the album as they become more enlightened to end the album and go off as a better person. The album also features a couple of interruptions from the GHN: Global Hood News, as the skits are used to just highlight several things that should be of some importance and the album also has a bonus track as the DP's normally do and it's worth listening to as a more straightforward statement of what is covered through out the entire album.

Dead Prez is always worth a listen and this album seems to be a little less angry than before as they really go in on the idea of being healthy and being prepared oneself for the future. It's a good message and one that should be heard. The album is decent, though the music doesn't seem to fit perfectly but none of the songs are out of place. Just different in this time of either scratchy old school samples or bass heavy southern stylings, that they go in another direction totally. You should definitely check this album out.

Rating: 3/5

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