I mean sure, he said those things about hip hop and placed it all into a box, but who cares. Ben Carson got bars. That's why I'm here to review his new album. We were able to get an advanced copy from our friend on the inside of the campaign. So without further theatrics, let's dive into this album.
There isn't really one continuous theme on this album. One moment he's rapping about how the death of Trayvon Martin and others are tragedies that show that America still has a race issue. On the track "Post-Racial America" he raps the following:
"Black Americans, on the other hand, find it almost impossible to think about ‘fairness’ or ‘justice’ in anything but racial terms because of our nation’s historical record of unfairness and injustice to our race... No matter how often we are told we need to ‘get over’ the past, white people need to understand these things are not easy for us to forget." [2]Ben Carson is spitting that real truth. When a lot of rappers are afraid to say something like that he was telling the truth. It takes a lot for the future President Of The United States to admit that the justice system has a heavy racial bias. Such as "jury of your peers," often means a predominately if not completely white male jury. In fact the Supreme Court is tackling that issue right now.
The track "Black Lives Cause Riots," he raps "White people think of racial violence in a modern context such as the black riots that erupted in the wake of the Rodney King verdict, they have no grasp on the history of racial violence in this country" [3] While he may have used an outdated event the message is still heard. Majority of white people in America don't have any grasp on the violence that black people have faced through centuries. Not just slavery, but lynchings, water hoses, dogs, tear gas, tanks and so on. He follows it up with "longer sentences for crimes involving crack, largely involving poor, black, or Hispanic offenders are morally and intellectually indefensible."[4] Carson is right. The war on drugs is just a war on minorities. Good call on that Carson.
He follows up with the track "Al Sharpton and I." It's strange track because it features Al Sharpton, then again Carson has a history with sharp objects that he covers later in the album. He raps "America has achieved prominence in record time because of our diverse population, and the future should be no different."[5] I'm glad Ben Carson understands the importance of diversity.
The song "Up Like Trump (In The Polls)," also has some incite into his presidential campaign. He raps "Call me crazy, shit, at least you're calling." Showing that he may just be saying stupid things to get a jump in the polls. He also states "I just say crazy shit to get a rise out of people." The track is probably his strongest lyrically and features a soulful hook from Candy Carson.
"BaWack Obama," features Carson taking shots at President Obama. One that stood out was "You ain't black, you a fucking Cambodian ass nigga." While Carson has made it clear that he is no fan of political correctness in the past the content on this track is somewhat shocking. He also raps "This is real, not for play, I'm gonna vote Obamacare away." It also has Candy Carson delivering some hard hitting bars no doubt aimed at Michelle Obama such as "Bitch, you about to be irrelevant, so step out of my new residence," as well as "When you see me, better not say shit, I'll slap yo ass up like Della Reese did Eddie Murphy, you better tell Secret Service they ain't fucking with no rookie." Ben Carson returns for the third verse where he shows his love for his wife stating "She take blood by the liter, I'll never leave her, my viscous vixen, send that ass to God quicker, no matter yo religion, you Muslim, Hebrew or Christian, she indiscriminate with punishment, she sends them missing." I had no idea that the Carson family was so serious about their dislike of the Obama family.
The song that follows is called "Black Republican," and uses a remixed version of the Nas and Jay Z track of the same name. This track features Herman Cain, Allen West, Clarence Thomas and Colin Powell. The track opens with Ben Carson stating "Democrats say they want that heads up but we don't fight fair. Catch you from the backside then knock you out. Then Allen gonna stomp you out and Herman gonna stomp you out." Herman Cain has a boastful verse stating "Get it straight I'm the Godfather of this, now you know, don't have to guess." Allen West is his normal violent self rapping "What I carry's much bigger than Dick Cheney's, do a Hail Mary before I make Bloody Mary's out of your capillaries." Clarence Thomas breaks his silence going way over 16 bars with several quotables addressing several issues such as "I never stuck my cock in Anita's box, but damned if she didn't open Pandora's box. They slandered your man on CNN and Fox and now when I text my wife keeps watch" he seems to have a breakdown when he states "I used to be a Black Panther, how did they stop the Black Panthers, Ronald Reagan Cooked up the answer."
Colin Powell by far has the best verse on the tack or the album in general. He seems to be taking aim at the collaborators on the track as well as other Republicans. He raps "Let me talk about Dick Cheney again, said my name again, he must want his heart to explode again. Have my wife take care of his family again." Dick Cheney will probably respond by trying to acquire rocket launchers. It seems Powell is tired of Cheney calling him soft for years. Then Powell just goes off stating:
"Jumped on this track but I don't like no one. Ask me who I know, no one. Never heard of these Black Republicans. Just Clarence Thomas lying again. Sexual Harassment again. He want segregation again. Herman Cain should deliver pizza again, Allen West should be court martialed again. Riding through Detroit, I've never seen a single Carson. Only Carson I respect is Johnny Carson forget the rest of them."I'm not sure why they left that Colin Powell verse in there. Why did they even invite him to do the song? He's made it clear that he isn't a fan of current Republicans. That was a bad idea. He came in and made them look like fools.
The last track on the album is rather unspectacular and is called "The Real Ben Carson." In this track he addresses the confusion surrounding him as a person. He attempts to mumble his way through the truth in hopes of clearing his conscience. At one point he raps "I stab people, old ladies, little kids, I don't give a fuck. I stab people."[6] He also raps "I never stopped a robbery but I'm outside the Popeyes organization eating chicken and fries, yeah come holla at ya uncle, just understand I talk crazy to be in popular demand."
The album isn't perfect. I didn't expect it to be because Ben Carson is a busy man, and crazy. Don't forget crazy. The album features him using his trademark mumble flow to deliver his lyrics. The album sounds most similar to a Future album. You never really know what Carson is saying until you listen 47 times and even then you just wish you didn't listen.
It's really a horrible album and sounds like a broken record on just your first listen. I'd have to give this album a 1 out of 10 just for the effort. At least you tried Ben. Now go sit down next to Alan West and hope he isn't in a pistol whip people mood today.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
Follow @OriginalKingD
[1] Ben Carson interview with WBLS Radio Station
[2][3][4] The Big Picture by Ben Carson
[5] Al Sharpton and I by Ben Carson
[6] Story told in Carson's book Gifted Hands (clearly not an exact quote from the book)
