![]() ![]() Although the rest of Internal Affairs never reaches the riotous heights of “Simon Says,” it generally follows that song’s approach-an underground hero opening up the cypher a bit to the audiences rapidly coalescing around rap radio and mixtapes. It debuted prominently on Funkmaster Flex’s Hot 97 radio show amid his signature bomb sound effects-rap’s most important commercial cosign. ![]() But Monch and Rawkus had more ambitious plans, as the seminal single “Simon Says” made immediately apparent.īuilt around a catchy-as-hell sample of the Godzilla theme, the song was an indie-rap-friendly club banger at a time when that juxtaposition seemed impossible. So when Southside Queens’ Pharoahe Monch-who had dropped three highly conceptual cult favorite albums as half of the duo Organized Konfusion-signed with Rawkus in 1999, it felt like a natural match, a safe homecoming for an underground veteran. That scene was dominated by Rawkus Records, the NYC indie that in quick succession released proudly noncommercial formative music from then-unknowns Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and EL-P’s group Company Flow. At the time of this record’s initial release in 1999, a fiercely underground, "independent as fuck" (to quote a young EL-P) backpack scene had sprung up in seeming opposition to the mainstream successes and excesses of Bad Boy Records’ so-called shiny-suit era. But it’s just as notable as a fascinating time capsule of the state of hip-hop at the end of one of its most consequential and dynamic decades. Internal Affairs stands out as an impressive solo debut from one of rap’s most skilled-and underappreciated-technicians of all time.
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