America Is Dying Slowly
After releasing seven successful AIDS benefit compilations that focus on genres from dance to indie-rock to country, in 1996 the Red Hot Organization put out its first hip-hop record,America Is Dying Slowly(note the acronym). But with African Americans accounting for 60 percent of U.S. AIDS cases, and AIDS now the No. 1 cause of death for Americans 25 to 44, you'd think an album like this would have been produced sooner. Apparently, though, it took the AIDS-related death of rapper Eazy-E the year before to awaken the hip-hop community to the problem. Unlike past non-rap Red Hot projects, which were more about raising funds than increasing awareness, the conversational nature of rap allows it to address the issues directly without sounding awkward or preachy. While making us dance and laugh, Domino tells us to "Sport That Raincoat" and Biz Markie, Chubb Rock, and Prince Paul warn, "No Rubber, No Backstage Pass." But the messages sent are not always on the mark: there are bits of the usual conspiracy theories (Mobb Deep) and entirely too much finger-pointing at the "nasty hoes" (Sadat X, Fat Joe, and Diamond D.) and "no-good hoes" (Spice 1, Celly Cel, and Ant Banks). But the compilation also delivers sensitivity and subtlety from some unlikely places. Wu-Tang Clan's title track, for instance, limps along a simple two-chord piano loop that makes for some of the most melancholic hip-hop ever created. Adding to the various viewpoints offered here, Eightball and MJG offer "Listen to Me Now," a rap from the virus's perspective. It all seems appropriate; AIDS, after all, has long been the most ruthless and indiscriminate gangsta in town.--Roni Sarig