“It’s the ventilation that we all need…to help the youth succeed.”
The acoustic intro to the late Phife Dawg’s 2000 solo debut, Ventilation: Da LP, was an attention grabber. Early into its first song, the Hi-Tek-produced “Flawless”, Phife sounded as though we were in for a compelling record.
Phife rhymes, “It’s so ridiculous, you’re sounding hideous / Talking tough, but be dressing on some wussy s**t / Tight see-through shirt, on some hard nipple s**t / Fake Versace shades while all up in the club and s**t / Fake Rolex, it’ll change the color of your arm and s**t / Sports bras, halter tops, what the f**k is this?”
Ever the battle rhymer through and through, Phife glimpsed the fabric of Hip Hop being subjected to softener. He didn’t like what he saw.
Phife also touched on the flawed major-label-driven recording industry. “Peep the Groove Attack ensemble, we about to fly high / F**k majors, we independent like the 4th of July / I guess we didn’t really share the same vision, but it was their decision / Them f***ers just wouldn’t listen, but now look who’s bitchin”.
These sentiments continued a couple tracks later on the neck-snapping “DRUGS”. On it Phife expressed his displeasure over yet another fresh Hi-Tek score. That’s about where, for the most part, this LP peaked.
Aside from a few other dope beats – “Melody Adonis” produced by Pete Rock, “4 Hoursemen” produced by J Dilla – Phife, honestly, left a lot to be desired.
Most songs here were okay at best. Diehard A Tribe Called Quest fans were hoping for a more inspired full-length studio set from The 5-foot Assassin. What they got was a member of one of Hip Hop’s greatest and most inspiring groups left to go it alone, and on this instinctive journey he hadn’t entirely found himself as a solo act yet.
Following the aforementioned, you might be scratching your head at this classic review. You may think this LP doesn’t meet the criteria of what would normally be consider a classic album. Let’s not forget that “classic” based strictly on opinion is subjective.
With the heartbreaking passing of Phife on March 22, 2016, everything he’s done with Tribe will headline most conversations about his incredible career. Out of respect for his legacy Ventilation: Da LP can’t and shouldn’t be ignored. | THIS ENT
[By Mr. Joe Walker]
