Organized Konfusion

Performer: Organized Konfusion
Artist: O.C.
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Out of print on cassette on Hollywood [720616121226] - (D99) Organized Konfusion: Pharoahe Monch, Prince Poetry (vocals). Additional personnel includes: O.C. (rap vocals); Vicky (vocals); Adam Ant Anton (guitar, piano); Chuck (saxophone); Chris Conway (drums); The Merrick Park Baptist Gospel Choir (background vocals). Producers: Organized Konfusion, Snap, The Foolish Mortals, Kid Nyce, So Unique. Engineers include: "Adam Ant" Anton, Al "Taz" Machera, Alex. Recorded at Power Play, Long Island City, New York; Rawlstons, Brooklyn, New York; Calliope, New York. Personnel: Vicky (vocals); Anton P., Adam Ant Anton (guitar, piano); Chuck (saxophone); Chris Conway (drums). Audio Mixer: Organized Konfusion. Recording information: Calliope Studios, New York, NY; Power Play Studios, Long Island City, NY; Rawlston Recording Studios, Brooklyn, NY. Photographer: Alice Arnold. The inspired debut album from the duo of Prince Poetry and Pharoahe Monch was arguably the underground rap album of the 1990s, at a time when "underground," aside from Ultramagnetic MC's, didn't really yet exist in the coherent manner that it would later in the decade. It most definitely represented an alternative and ran perpendicular to much of what passed for mainstream hip-hop in 1991, with the possible exception of the Native Tongue family, with which Organized Konfusion shared a maverick, sometimes playful, sensibility if not an identifiable sound. The MCs trade rhymes and intertwining, singsong choruses like a pair of old school pros, but their lyrical flows and topical themes were decidedly progressive for the era, and even still manage to sound almost futuristic. Poetry is no slouch as a rapper and, in fact, probably would have been the headliner in almost any other group, but Monch is obviously the breakout star here. His vocal presence is looming and imposing, to an almost apocalyptic degree at times ("Prisoners of War," the title song), as he throws out a relentless jet stream of complex verbiage and knotty images. But each is constantly surprising throughout Organized Konfusion, the reason it felt like such a cobweb clearer upon its release, and still feels so today. The duo also handled most of the production chores itself, creating a dense, visceral tapestry of strangely organic sounds, from the syrupy smooth and viscous tones of "Fudge Pudge" and "Audience Pleasers" to "Releasing Hypnotical Gases," all gurgling, alien internal processes, to the first whimsical single, Who Stole My Last Piece of Chicken?, presented here in its strikingly disparate original and remix versions. Organized Konfusion may be, alongside Main Source's Breaking Atoms, the quintessential cult hip-hop album from a decade full of forward-looking efforts. ~ Stanton Swihart

Coming across at times goofy and nostalgic, but at most times unrelentingly serious, Organized Konfusion, the duo of Prince Poetry and Pharoahe Monch, gained instant underground celebrity in the early-1990s with its brash, cerebral brew of hip-hop. While for some the act is best remembered for the quasi-novelty single "Who Stole the Last Piece of Chicken?" which received heavy rotation on BET, the bulk of the act's critically lauded work is much darker and introspective, tackling issues from angles unseen before or since. While Pharoahe Monch's solo forays were few and far between, his distinctive voice delivering multi-syllabic flow has made him one of hip-hop's legendary mystic MCs.

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