Canibus, Can-I-Bus (1998)
Canibus is a special kind of rapper. He's a rare breed that always comes with a fury like a bad case of Mexican water diarrhea. We all heard him on various joints with other rappers where he made his collaborators seem insignificant. He was an underground giant and growing. He teamed up with Wyclef and earned immense airplay with popular radio stations. He had the hip-hop world buzzing when he crushed LL Cool J with Iron Mike on a dis track. But that was the crescendo of his career. Who’d have thought? This album, as great as it is, was his undoing.
It’s disturbing, well at least to me, that true hip-hop heads dismissed this album. Apparently, no one saw the depths at which this lyrical madman works on songs like Niggonometry where ‘Bis deviates from the norm and busts some thought provoking raps with a few cheap shots at consumerism and “selling out” in the industry. “Now if you take a glass of water and add two cubes of ice/ you should see the cup’s water slightly rise, right?/ you need to watch what I’m a show you (watch this)/ you need to watch closely at what I’m a show you (listen to this right here)/ if you remove every living animal out of the sea/ then wouldn’t the world’s ocean water level decrease/ this means the planet wasn’t three-quarters water…” Poor intelligent-thug-type-rapper, no one ever promised that the world was 3/4ths water, it’s well noted, conversely, that the Earth’s surface is three-quarters water. Basically, 75% of the surface of the Earth is covered in water. But I’ll forgive him.
Other deep joints included I Honor U where ‘Bis assumes himself as a sperm cell, then an embryo and finally a fetus. Also, Rip Rock which has a sort of hybrid between electric indy rock and battle rap beat. But that’s not it, your man ‘Bis delivers lyrically too! He brings his signature, ready for battle, tenacity and straight demolishes the recording booth.
“Yo, physically I move at a velocity/ that’ll break your stop watch if you clocking me/ my concrete jungle is like Jumanji/ iller than what you’ve seen in the cinema/ a 5 foot 8 nigga with more horse power than 12 cylinders/ my brain consists of twin Pentium chips/ double the clocked speeds of a 586/ and nothing about my physical matrix is basic/ I kick flavor beyond what your tongue is capable of tasting/ you’ll be so surprised you won’t believe your own eyes/ it’s like a Jamaican seeing the snow for the first time/ rhymes of a sort that distort space and time/ it’s like it’s plain in color to a man that was born blind,” is effortlessly recited by the Canibus on Let’s Ride over a slow West Coast-esque sound.
The album slips up with a couple boring songs, namely Get Retarded and Channel Zero. But Buckingham Palace and How We Roll is pure nitroglycerin. In other words, you’d be stupid to not listen to this album. You will crack vertebrae knocking your head to this.
Rating: 8 Platinum teefs
Buy or Copy: Well if you’re like most, copying this will make you as happy as a hog in mud.
It’s disturbing, well at least to me, that true hip-hop heads dismissed this album. Apparently, no one saw the depths at which this lyrical madman works on songs like Niggonometry where ‘Bis deviates from the norm and busts some thought provoking raps with a few cheap shots at consumerism and “selling out” in the industry. “Now if you take a glass of water and add two cubes of ice/ you should see the cup’s water slightly rise, right?/ you need to watch what I’m a show you (watch this)/ you need to watch closely at what I’m a show you (listen to this right here)/ if you remove every living animal out of the sea/ then wouldn’t the world’s ocean water level decrease/ this means the planet wasn’t three-quarters water…” Poor intelligent-thug-type-rapper, no one ever promised that the world was 3/4ths water, it’s well noted, conversely, that the Earth’s surface is three-quarters water. Basically, 75% of the surface of the Earth is covered in water. But I’ll forgive him.
Other deep joints included I Honor U where ‘Bis assumes himself as a sperm cell, then an embryo and finally a fetus. Also, Rip Rock which has a sort of hybrid between electric indy rock and battle rap beat. But that’s not it, your man ‘Bis delivers lyrically too! He brings his signature, ready for battle, tenacity and straight demolishes the recording booth.
“Yo, physically I move at a velocity/ that’ll break your stop watch if you clocking me/ my concrete jungle is like Jumanji/ iller than what you’ve seen in the cinema/ a 5 foot 8 nigga with more horse power than 12 cylinders/ my brain consists of twin Pentium chips/ double the clocked speeds of a 586/ and nothing about my physical matrix is basic/ I kick flavor beyond what your tongue is capable of tasting/ you’ll be so surprised you won’t believe your own eyes/ it’s like a Jamaican seeing the snow for the first time/ rhymes of a sort that distort space and time/ it’s like it’s plain in color to a man that was born blind,” is effortlessly recited by the Canibus on Let’s Ride over a slow West Coast-esque sound.
The album slips up with a couple boring songs, namely Get Retarded and Channel Zero. But Buckingham Palace and How We Roll is pure nitroglycerin. In other words, you’d be stupid to not listen to this album. You will crack vertebrae knocking your head to this.
Rating: 8 Platinum teefs
Buy or Copy: Well if you’re like most, copying this will make you as happy as a hog in mud.
posted by Sean at 10:32 PM
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