Album Review: Phil the Agony – Think Green (2009)
Rating: 3 out of 5 Potholes
Think Green is the second solo venture from West Coast emcee Phil the Agony, who released his debut, Aromatic, in 2004. The title is a shout-out to environmentalism as opposed to the green of money or weed, although all three types of green receive fairly equal shine throughout the album. At only 45 minutes long and with few songs that do not feature guests, Think Green is a bit underwhelming overall but is still a solid release from a clearly talented emcee.
The title-track, which details the importance of being environmentally conscious, is the highlight of the album and features an excellent guest spot from Talib Kweli. Many hip hop songs deal with important societal issues, but the state of our environment is one that I’ve yet to seen tackled. What makes “Think Green” so refreshing is that not only is it a song with a message, but one which decides to deal with a situation that is often overlooked in the rap world as being one of the biggest wrongs in need of righting. While it may not be very “street” to talk about recycling on a record, it is certainly a welcomed breath of fresh air.
Unfortunately, the rest of the album lacks such thought-provoking subject matter. Granted, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing considering the strength of Phil the Agony as a rapper, but track after track of bragging wears thin. The trio of Phil, Planet Asia, and Krondon appear on three of the tracks, with Planet Asia proving why he’s the biggest name out of the three, Phil the Agony holding his own, and Krondon pulling up the rear as the weakest link the chain (he’s not exactly a bad rapper, just not as gifted in comparison to the other two). Kweli makes another stellar appearance on “Hunters,” where he outshines both Phil the Agony and Krondon with ease. Throughout these songs, Phil the Agony proves that he’s more than capable as an emcee; with a nice flow and some hard-hitting punchlines, it’s unfortunate that he didn’t both lessen the number of guests and try and branch out beyond his comfort zone of talking about how good he is.
The beats are a bit up and down in terms of quality, but there aren’t any that glaringly detract from the album. The previously mentioned “Hunters” utilizes the piano to the fullest, creating an excellent and catchy beat, while “What It Is” and “Everyday” also stand out production wise (though I ‘m confused as to why on the latter Jean Grae’s guest appearance is limited to merely working the chorus). For the most part the beats are nice, but the focus remains on Phil the Agony’s microphone skills. While not fully polished as a rapper, Phil the Agony shows a lot of promise with Think Green. One can only hope that his next venture will show further growth and development.
