Differing Thoughts

Is it me that finds something off with Black Thought. I've always heard his name in the "Best MC's" category. I'd push him towards the middle. The content he speaks on automatically gives him a plus. But on pure skills, he's not extraodrinary. Creativeness can be thin at times. Metaphors are quite literal. More often than not, Black Thought seems to be screaming into a megaphone, veins poppin out and all. It's as if he's down there trying to reach us. The rawness of Black though is his essential trait; he survives off that expression of emotion. And his sort of goofy remarks speckled throughout his rhymes are always a nice contrast from such an intelligent rapper. Don't get me wrong, I like "75 Bars" and "Get Busy"--and I will cop that Rising Down. At times though, Black Thought, and maybe The Roots in general, seem to blend together. It's always this underground true Hip-Hop feel. If I learned anything from Little Brother, it's that artists can, and should be, different or offer another side. I don't want to degrade Black some more but The Roots collective, i.e. ?uestlove, Kirk, Hubbard (well, formerly) et al offer more alluring elements than Black Thought. Their carving brand of live Hip-Hop may be more important than what Black has to offer.