Paris

Subtlety has never been Paris’s strong point. Back in 1992 the politically strident MC got caught up in the Ice-T "Cop Killer” fallout when the artwork to his Sleeping with the Enemy album featured him ready to violently ambush then-president George Bush Sr. Paris has kept a relatively low profile since that album but according to Paris on Sonic Jihad, not much has changed. The President’s name is still Bush and Sonic Jihad’s artwork features a plane heading directly towards the White House. It’s no surprise to hear then, that while Paris strictly trades in g-funk on this entirely self-produced effort, it’s only loosely identifiable with Dr. Dre on a sonic basis. Paris’s lyrics, delivered in a stoic, commandeering rasp uncompromisingly deconstructs neoconservative politics, identifies the media outlets as "agents of repression” and targets materialistic hip-hop for turning its back on the issues he addresses. The most distilled example of Paris’s current viewpoint is put forward on "What Would You Do?” his analysis of post 9-11 America that implicates Bush’s involvement in the attacks. With his steadfast viewpoint and production that doesn’t really conform to any current trends, Paris enlists the help of like-minded artists Dead Prez and Public Enemy on the "Atomic Dog”-powered "Freedom” remix among others on some tracks for support. Paris’s refusal to change up his topics and production style throughout could grate on some, but one thing Sonic Jihad proves is that he can’t be accused of not using his right to freedom of speech.