First studio album by Brazilian hip-hop group Racionais MC's, on their third effort in four years after two EPs. Mano Brown, Edi Rock and Ice Blue perform the lyrics over DJ KL Jay's beats.
Intro by Edi Rock, then Mano Brown, perhaps one of the best MCs of the nineties in hip-hop, brings us to one of the highlights of the edition, "Fim de semana no parque": on a boom bap with a slow and heavy lacerating drum machine, accompanied by splendid strings and the live instrumentation of Newton Carneiro on keyboards, Vaguininho on cavaquinho, Netinho on percussion, and LINO on sax, Mano Brown brings out a cheerful and festive storytelling with a smoothness and energetic delivery style. His verse is apparently light-hearted at first, in reality it shows us that things taken for granted for the wealthy people are still dreams for the children of the metropolitan suburbs. Edi Rock's verse is shorter, but no less powerful, it anticipates the ending, again performed by Mano Brown, who, if possible, brings out something even more powerful, with a personal and socio-conscious verse about suburban boys easily destined for a life of crime due to the lack of alternatives.
"Part II" features a jazzy bap boom with honest samples and slow tight drum pounding, in an Edi Rock solo cut focused on betrayal, fidelity and women. "Mano na porta do bar" is another strong cut drawn by Mano Brown, which also features a couple of Ice Blue stanzas: DJ KL Jay brings out a nice rhythm, slow tight and hard drum machine, honest samples together with a melodic soul in the background, hardcore delivery of the two MCs, which tell of a guy who, in an attempt to improve his social condition, decides to undertake the illusory criminal / drug boss life. "Honem na estrada" is another sure highlight, probably of the entire 1993 year, all genres: on a simply fantastic soundscape made by KL Jay, with light downtempo drum and beautiful samples, Mano Brown takes us into the life of a man in the favelas for about ten minutes, performing four heavy verses with a style of rapping hardcore, smoothness and dope.
The following production consists of a slow pounding and tight drum and simple samples that act as a sound background for a socio-political cut: "Juri Racional" processes Afro-Brazilians who have no respect for their identity and their culture, giving up to chase the material needs typical of the bourgeoisie who will use them and never accept them. The cut is performed mainly by Edi Rock and Ice Blue, Mano Brown is limited to a few bars in a kind of chorus. "Fio da navalha" boasts honest samples, a light downtempo drum and few lines from the three MCs, which leave a lot of space for live instrumentation offered by Vander Carneiro on bass, Arthur Gaita on harmonica, Newton Carneiro on keyboards, Edmilson on sax, and KL Jay on drums, that bring a country-western sound, before the final thanks.
Released by Zimbabwe Records, the album is such a huge success it's hard to explain. Over the hundreds of thousands of copies sold, Racionais MC's third effort is strong enough to establish hip-hop as the most popular musical genre in Brazil, this in 1993. With 8 cuts and an Illmaticly listening duration, the album is an essential listening for all fans of socio-conscious and political hip-hop: "Fim de semana no parque" and "Homem na estrada" are the obligatory tracks, both by Mano Brown, who performs powerful lyrics with a dope delivery on the best productions of the edition. It's one of the best hip-hop albums of the year.
Rating: 8.5/10.
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