Papoose

At one point in time, armed with a record deal worth over a million dollars, Brooklyn, NY MC Papoose was heralded as the future of NYC street rap. But then industry red tape meant the momentum he built with a mountainous slew of mixtapes dried up, and then his wife, fellow MC Remy Ma, was incarcerated. Papoose's profile virtually slipped into the ether. Now, seven years after it was first supposed to surface The Nacirema Dream is finally here, putting Papoose in an unenviable position. Without listening to a beat, you already know the record cannot meet the initial hype due to the long delay. Once you do start to listen, it's evident that some of the tracks, presumably recorded a while back, haven't aged well. That said, there's definitely some worthwhile material. "Cure" features Papoose assuming the character of various diseases, detailing their devastating effects on vulnerable and poor communities. "Law Library Pt.8" continues a series Papoose began on his popular mixtapes, dispensing legal advice on NYC's stop-and-frisk laws, a current hot button topic in the city. But "Alphabetical Slaughter Pt. II (Z to A)," another attempt to revisit a past Papoose concept, unfortunately falls short. Featuring Papoose delivering alliterative rhymes in reverse alphabetical order, as a sequel to the original that went from A to Z, the decision to use the sound of a record spinning in reverse as the main accompaniment might have sounded good on paper, but is extremely tiresome in execution. Papoose gamely battles on, delivering some of his trademark punch lines, and you can tell he genuinely attempted to deliver a well-rounded record. However, there's not enough innovation to interest casual fans in the project.