After a lengthy 8 year hiatus, emcee extraordinaire Pharoahe Monch has finally returned with the long awaited follow up to his celebrated solo debut, Internal Affairs. As half of the Hip-Hop dynamic duo Organized Konfusion, Pharoahe’s uncanny delivery, potent lyrics and infinite rhyme styles helped catapult OK to the forefront of the legendary ’90s underground Hip-Hop movement, producing 3 classic albums in the course of the decade. Following an amicable split in 1998, Pharoahe used his gifted ability to combine dense lyricism with accessible beats and catchy hooks. He finally gained highly elusive commercial success in ’99 with his widely popular “Simon Says” single off Internal Affairs, adding yet another gem to his credit. Needless to say, given his decorated past and extensive layoff, expectations for the summer release of Desire are staggeringly high, yet this seasoned veteran is more than up to the challenge and does not disappoint. In many ways Pharoahe actually exceeds said expectations.

With a widely unpopular 2-term presidency, Enron, 9/11, a catastrophic tsunami, the Katrina debacle, an unjust war and Hip-Hop on its proverbial death bed, a lot has changed since the relatively recent turn of the century, providing a lot of ground to be made up by this modern-day griot. Due to label and legal issues (including the fall of Rawkus Records and the sample clearance of the Godzilla portion of “Simon Says”, respectively) Pharoahe’s time off was not entirely voluntary. Hence, Desire is appropriately set off with the aptly titled track, “Free”. Here the understandably bitter emcee ferociously releases his frustrations out with the infamous record industry. Immediately afterwards comes the intense title track, “Desire”, and the inspirational first single, “Push”, both immensely drenched with energy, passion and emotion. In between each track’s up-tempo beats, heavy drum laden breaks and soulful wailing hooks, Pharoahe effortlessly injects his flawless delivery and intricate rhymes, setting an exhausting heart racing pace for the remaining 11 tracks to follow. But don’t stop to catch your breath yet. Abutting an amazing sound bite of a recent speech from apocryphal Hip-Hop pioneer Chuck D (legendary front man of the incredibly influential Golden Age rap group Public Enemy, that invokes the spirits of great black orators of American History), Pharoahe Monch phenomenally recreates and updates Chuck D’s signature cadence and energetic flow with astonishing accuracy in a powerful rendition of the classic track, “Welcome to the Terrordome”, easily considered the most impressive cover the genre has produced to date. Pharoahe continues by displaying his unparalleled ability to tell detailed imagery-based stories on “When the Gun Draws”, where the talented illusionist revisits his classic role as a stray bullet, offering a cleverly unique side of a far too familiar story. Followed by a smart yet fun satire of the current state of music, this lyrical thespian plays the Elvis of the Hip-Hop generation in “Body Baby.” As the pace begins to slow down on the back half of the album with “Hold On” (a beautiful duet with savvy songstress Erykah Badu) and “So Good” (an indicative love song), Pharoahe ups the ante once again. By putting his acting cap back on in an epic 3-act, 9-minute “Trilogy”, Pharoahe takes on the role of a lovesick husband who finds his lawfully wedded wife engaging in an extramarital affair with his best friend. In this vividly dolor tale of pain and betrayal, the listener is taken on a cinematic journey through the mind of a post crime-of-passion assailant in an operatic drama that would make Paul Roberson, Leontyne Price and Harry Belafonte all very proud.

In this current era that finds the first generation raised entirely on Hip-Hop longing to find their place in today’s immature state of the culture, Desire proves that there is such a thing as Hip-Hop for adults, giving its audience of grown-ups a more mature version of the music on which they grew up. Seamlessly wading through nearly every human emotion, Desire can make you laugh, cry, dance or just nod your head in satisfaction while simultaneously addressing every current relative topic of interest with grace, character and intelligence. Pharoahe’s superb storytelling and quick-witted wordplay renders Desire as an entertaining pleasure with incredibly high replay value, a seemingly endless range of subject matter and an impeccable cinematic value that is far too rare within the genre, rivaled by only a few other albums the likes of Rea and Ghost’s Purple Tape and Nas’ It Was Written. This level of poetic photoplay is all but non-existent within today’s unimaginative Hop scene. Containing virtually no filler, together with apt production and Pharoahe’s ability to make an entire album without ever taking a break on the mic, Desire is reminiscent of the remarkable albums of the genre’s illustrious past. However few and far between, Desire is a new millennium Hop album that should go down in the annals of Hip-Hop history.