Track Listing
1. Intro
2. Behind Closed Doors
3. Queens
4. Rape
5. Simon Says - (remix)
6. Official
7. Hell - (featuring Canibus)
8. No Mercy - (featuring M.O.P.)
9. Right Here
10. Next S***, The - (featuring Busta Rhymes)
11. Ass, The - (featuring Apani)
12. Light, The
13. God Send - (featuring Organized Konfusion)
14. Truth, The - (featuring Common/Talib Kweli)
15. Simon Says - (featuring Lady Luck/Redman/Method Man/Shabaam Sahdeeq/Busta Rhymes)
| Details | | Contributing Artists: | Apani, Busta Rhymes, Canibus, Common, DJ Total Eclipse, Lady Luck, M.O.P., Method Man, Organized Konfusion, Redman, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Talib Kweli | | Distributor: | EMI Music Distribution | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes
Personnel includes: Pharoahe Monch, DJ Scratch, Prince Poetry, MOP, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Apani, Redman, Method Man, Lady Luck, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, Common, Black Thought (vocals); DJ Total Eclipse (cuts).
Producers: DJ Scratch, Lee Stone, Diamond, The Alchemist, Pharoahe Monch.
Enginneers include: Sharon Kearney, Troy Hightower, Tony Donovan.
Personnel includes: Pharoahe Monch, DJ Scratch, Prince Poetry, MOP, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Apani, Redman, Method Man, Lady Luck, Busta Rhymes, Talib Kweli, Common, Black Thought (vocals); DJ Total Eclipse (cuts).
Producers: DJ Scratch, Lee Stone, Diamond, The Alchemist, Pharoahe Monch.
Engineers include: Sharon Kearney, Troy Hightower, Tony Donovan.
After three critically acclaimed albums as part of the trailblazing Queens duo Organized Konfusion and one of the most memorable tracks of 1999 ("The Mayor") on the Rawkus compilation SOUND BOMBING II, Pharoah Monch steps into the spotlight with his solo debut, INTERNAL AFFAIRS. Known for his metaphorical deftness and involved lyrical execution, Monch delivers intense raw rhymes throughout on tracks like "Behind Closed Doors" (on which he boasts, "How I made it, you salivated over my calibrated raps that validated my ghetto credibility").
Although Monch always brings his remarkable mic skills to the table, a more accessible radio sound has been substituted for the intellectual complexity of his Organized Konfusion material. Street anthems like "Simon Says" and "The Ass" make this a great party album. "The Next S***," with Busta Rhymes celebrates the new generation of ambiguous East Coast word play (sample lyric: " I stare at data that have my niggas katamaranding around gats, cop figures like Knots Landing"). However, those in search of the classic storytelling of his past work should check "God Send" with former OK partner Prince Poetry and "Queens," a stunning tableau of the trials and tribulations of life in his hometown South Jamaica.
Editorial Reviews
...[Monch] raises the intensity level to a fever pitch with this masterful set of thinking-man's hardcore...
CMJ (11/01/1999)
4 mics out of 5 - ...a Pharoahe not seen before...accomplishing [accessibility] without sacrificing one iota of integrity....he presents a more fully realized portrait of his artistic self....a well-deserved victory for a man who has labored in relative obscurity for far too long...
The Source (12/01/1999)
4 stars out of 5 - ...[a] stunning solo debut....This Queens-bred word-sound scientist...is widely considered one of the best...MC's working today....you can't ever again complain about the state of hip-hop MC'ing if you ain't heard da' sublime Pharoahe Monch.
Rolling Stone (12/09/1999)
...one of the most multi-faceted MCs around, and he brings several of his skills to bear on INTERNAL AFFAIRS....At first, both musically and lyrically, it's a fairly dark place....yet he achieves a catharsis....with the feeling that he's achieved some kind of peace.
The Wire (01/01/2000)
4 Mics (out of 5) - ...Here you'll find a Pharoahe not seen before....INTERNAL AFFAIRS' essential triumph is Pharoahe's solving the conundrum that has long plagued [the] highly lyrical....[A] well-deserved victory for a man who has labored in relative obscurity for far too long...
The Source (12/01/1999)
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