The album reveals how far the Los Angeles MC has come from his earlier incarnation as a freestyle-based musician who sought out beats as unconventional as his raps. In comparison, L.A. duo Self Scientific faithfully adheres to its palette of samples and loops on The Self Science. The worst you could say is that it's predictable. Without even pressing the play button or lifting the turntable arm, rap fans know that The Self Science will kick off with an intro flipping the group's name in dizzying patterns of turntablist techniques, then launch into several indictments of MCs who have sold out for the cash, a time-honored tradition ever since Masta Ace, Incorporated's Slaughtahouse was released eight years ago. When I listen to these records, I can hear artists solemnly working out their craft while being assaulted by outside influences.
Commercial pressures are tantamount.
Perhaps it's naive to think that people working in the small backwater of independent hip-hop can put out albums unblemished by marketing concerns when, in the end, their careers are as susceptible to our whims and fancies as any musician's. It's like God is testing me. Ultimately, rappers will set their own limits on how much their art will be influenced by what we demand. But that doesn't make their decisions any less painful to listen to.