Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury

krindž političke poruke koje mjestimice nisu baš ni stihovi, više repetitivna recitacija, preko okej ili ne baš okej bitova. usto su pjesme preduge. eh

[odslušao i napisao 25/10/26]

Esta chulo pero se me ha hecho un poco largo de más, si pudiera le daría 3.5 estrellas.

The politics overshadow the beats but only because they are so jaw droppingly relevant to today, it is stunning to think the album is 35 years old.

Also very depressing.

Sonically, the album doesn't have much range but it is nice to hear This Mortal Coil being sampled. Twice.

But it is the lyrics that will keep me returning to this. I knew 'Television Drug of The Nation's but it was wonderful to be exposed to the album. It makes you long for a re-release to highlight not how little we have advanced, but how far we've gone backwards.

3.5/5

Day 68

Fuck it, I'm introducing 3+ because this doesn't belong on the same tier as Heavy Weather but it's still too flawed for an honest 4.

Fav track: Winter of the Long Hot Summer

You know what? I like this. Never heard it before. You know what else? It’s sad that what the songs talk about are still issues today.

This is stupid. Language of Violence was good, the rest made me lose braincells.

As others have mentioned, there's big Public Enemy energy here.

It's quite a chill time. There's nice consistent beats and good rhymes. It does start to feel a bit one-note by the end, and the album IS long.

Not particularly subtle lyrically but remarkably prescient. Beats & flows aren't particularly good/unique.

Got increasingly tiresome the more I listened. Guaranteed this guy would have been a drag to hang out with.

+1 star for something I've never heard of.

I'm sure it's great but not for me

Very 90s, very long

Ambitious hip hop still remains hip hop in my ears. Would have been rated higher if it wasn't so long

Truths being spit over subpar music. The message is on point, but the music kinda sucks, man.

Listened before? No

Familiar with the artist? No - going in to this one completely blind!

Thoughts:
- I've definitely said this before about albums on the list, and I'm sure I'll say it again: it's depressing how relevant this entire thing still is. I actually had to double check that it was released in 1992.
- Lyrically great, but musically not all that interesting to me. It also feels pretty long.

Favorite track(s): Hipocricy is the Greatest Luxury

Something of a combination between Gil Scott-Heron and Public Enemy. Not quite as explosive as PE. Favorites were Television The Drug Of The Nation, Music And Politics, and California Uber Alles

Chuck D just phoned, he wants his style back

I thought i would enjoy this and the music makes a promising start, but it’s all a bit samey. The delivery being deep and rhythmic felt like something that would showcase the aware lyrics, but by ‘Language of violence’ nothing really registered as it feels like rap to fall to sleep to. Perhaps the intention is for the messaging to subconsciously enter your mind, but awake its just not happening.
The length of the tracks dont help either. ‘ The Winter of the long hot summer’ tips the eight minute mark and is just dull.

‘Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury’ at last finally injects some life into proceedings, both in teems of music and musically delivery. This is continued through the next track, but comes to an abrupt end after that.
‘Financial leprosy’ and ‘California uber ales’ are probably the most explicit attempt to occupy Public Enemy territory, but they just deliver with far greater urgency and energy….and my god the repetition grates.

Is the messaging on this album worthy of attention, undoubtedly but that doesn’t make it a good or enjoyable listen. Would bet served to just read the lyrics.

I listened to this after waking up at 4am and being unable to get back to sleep. I went to sleep while listening to it. Now, I think it was lack of sleep as an issue, rather that the quality of the album, because I didn't entirely hate it.

Satanic Reverses did feel a bit like a lecture (despite my politics meaning I agree with the sentiment) but it was ok musically, if too long. And that was a bit of a theme: alright but almost every track was too long, mostly because of the skit-adjacent intros. It all feels a bit preachy/worthy, rather than empowering, in terms of its politics and I'm not sure why I felt that way to be honest given I like a lot of other 'political' artists. It's sort of disturbing how similar the themes are from this 1992 album to current events though.

I have to admit, the Dead Kennedys track turning up was a surprise to say the least. I would absolutely prefer the original.

2/5

𝘏𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘺 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘓𝘶𝘹𝘶𝘳𝘺 is more interesting for what it has to say than for how it sounds. Musically, it is not one of the strongest hip-hop records of the early 1990s, although its dense, confrontational production occasionally brings Public Enemy to mind. Michael Franti has a powerful, commanding voice, but over a full album his delivery can become a little too monotonous.

What holds my attention more is the subject matter. The record is deeply political and very much rooted in 1992, yet some of its criticism has aged remarkably well. Its focus on television as a force shaping public opinion may sound tied to its era, but replace television with social media, algorithms, and online platforms, and much of the argument still feels relevant today.

I respect the album’s intelligence and ambition, but I find its ideas more memorable than the music itself.

Gil Scott-Heron vibes for sure. I’d never heard of this group, but I’m familiar with Michael Franti. I really enjoyed this one!

This felt like a Chuck D solo record, which it is not. But super political early 90s hip hop checks a lot of my boxes.