Educated Consumers - "Write/Hear"

Educated Consumers - Catch a Glimpse (VeriZum 2007)

Educated Consumers - Write/Hear / VeriZum

In a week that's been full of hip-hop for us, Educated Consumers round out our five-day forecast with their second album, Write/Hear. Let's get right into it: The duo of Cole "Seez Mics" Policy and Jason "t.E.C.K!" Fields are not actually from Washington DC or Baltimore - they call College Park, Maryland home - but their reputation as arguably the best hip-hop duo to come from the greater metropolitan area betwixt B-town and Dead City has been growing steadily since they first came together in 1999. Already under their belt are two LPs, Aisle 2 having garnered the most acclaim and getting them the attention that allowed Write/Hear to happen. You'll have to ask Jason Torres what the name of that first one is.

They've opened for Murs. They've been on a Warped Tour date. They've been hyping Write/Hear on their website for over two years. What took so long? Who cares. It's finally here, and it's better than you're expecting, if you were expecting it at all: As the cover-art suggests, this album is built on old-skool beats and back-to-basics lyrical prowess the kind of which has been lamented so often as of late.

Seez Mics is on form straight away on the title-track, a crowd-pleasing, throw-your-hands-up anthem that has to work like magic live. "Make some noise if you're ready to enjoy it," and you will be by the time "Right They're" wraps up a hefty 17 tracks later. This album seems to fly by though, and a large part of the reason is Seez Mics. His delivery isn't anywhere near Twista-esque brain-benders, but his solid n' steady flow keeps things lively even as the album winds down in the second half. He's relentless and relentlessly entertaining.

Though the guys have a NoW Coast mentality on tracks such as "Dot, Dot, Dot..." where their political conscience comes out, the majority of the topics are more about average day-to-day living. "In the Pocket" describes how Seez Mics has to "move a few boxes and write a lot of songs" as the "Internet sales cover half of my rent." Straight commerce, that's all this is. In some ways, that's what's missing from hip-hop these days. On one end, you've got the Top 40 Courvoisieur VSOP-sipping superheroes with bullet wounds in their arms and exaggerated tales of thuggery; on the other end, you've got the underground good guys with the heart of gold working for their neighborhoods to raise awareness and fight the power by motivating people to get involved and change it from within. Stuck in the middle are the average educated consumers, buying it up but worrying more about the daily grind and paying rent most days than marching against Bush or deciding which slut to take home from the club. "Educated Consumers is not just a mantra," Seez Mics insists. But it can be, and that's part of the appeal (even if I might inadvertently be undermining everything they stand for).

"Save the cookie-cutter murder for 106 & Park," has to be my favorite line, from "Catch a Glimpse." Seez Mics is sharp alright, and the fact that you get some Pharcyde-worthy beats from t.E.C.K! makes this feel like it came straight outta 1992. It's laid-back sonically, but the rhymes can be aggressive depending on the subject. That clash is at the crux of the greatness behind this record. Its austerity works in its favor, smart but not distracting in sound and lyrically smart but not preachy.

Write/Hear is a great album because it shows how necessary every point on the hip-hop spectrum is. I'm not going to lie and say that "This is Why I'm Hot" doesn't have an incredible beat with mind-numbingly stupid lyrics, or say that Sage Francis doesn't have a keen eye for exposing political turmoil... But Educated Consumers prove that you can have both, and neither, and still be good. That's the magic of this album. It's totally average and perfect for exactly that reason.

If there's nothing else, this single week has reinvigorated my belief in hip-hop. It's far from a dead art, and though Educated Consumers are taking a slightly different approach - a little more throwback than Pharoahe Monch's futurism and a little less crate-diggingly deep funk than Copperpot - they are still a vital part of the landscape this genre has traversed in its relatively short existence. Educated Consumers are for the educated consumer: They know what the score is, but they play to their strengths and it shows. If you've dug what we've had here this week, support these witty bastards and get this album. We'll both be glad you did.