By SC, wackbeats.com
Direct. Volatile. Impassioned. Litigious. Debatable. Dubious. These are all words you could use to describe Acid Reflex or anything else that Paris has ever done. What is indisputable is only that he's talented, and that he's the real deal when it comes to headstrong, take-no-prisoners political hip-hop. He continues to make Chuck D (who guests on "Winter in America") look downright agreeable, as he has for years. If Chuck is hip-hop's Malcolm X, then Paris is its Louis Farrakhan. You don't have to agree with Paris' politics or his rhetoric to find the man's music appealing, I don't believe. I know that I do not. He's an extremist, but as an MC, he is outstanding. He controls the mic with relative ease; even when he's really, really pissed off, he sounds relaxed. Even when he's saying his most offensive stuff, he sounds intelligent and non-threatening. He is confrontational, but not really a bully. "Get Fired Up" is the biggest alarm-sounding anthem of the album, but the San Francisco MC is in fine form throughout. He has hardly lost a step since 1990's The Devil Made Me Do It. This is not music for everybody, to say the least. "Liberals" and "conservatives" alike would shun the messages that Paris so viciously preaches. He's not in this to make a quick buck or sell t-shirts. The man has a poison pen and skills to be reckoned with. It is hard-hitting and raises your senses if you give it a solid listen. He's a man from whom you can't turn your head.