Parallel Uni-Verses is a joint effort between Hieroglyphics founder Del The Funky Homosapien and original Artifacts emcee Tame One. Produced entirely by Parallel Thought, the album’s twelve tracks return to a time when inventiveness, creativity, funky beats, and, above all, lyricism, ruled hip hop.
Parallel Uni-Verses is that rare rap album which transcends tired cliches and maintains traditional hip hop values without seeming retro or passe. “Man, I ain’t even gonna be egotistical like that and try to say that we are trying to usher in some new revival of whatever,” Del says. However, he adds, “I’m saying this: we ARE the element that is missing not [just] because I said so. That’s what’s up; we didn’t sell out for all the luxury and monetary gains. The original ways, we kept at and built upon those.”
Proving that true lyricism is alive and well, Parallel Uni-Verses is another feather in the cap for Del and Tame, two prolific and highly-respected artists upholding the hip hop art form at its best—-and holding their own in 2009. |
