Paris - Sleeping with the Enemy

By Ken Capobianco, The Boston Globe

The mercurial rapper Paris' sophomore disc, has finally been released after three' companies refused to distribute it due to a couple "of controversial tracks. Don't let the cloud "surrounding the cop killer fantasy "Coffee, Donuts & Death or "Bush Killa" obscure that this is one of the best rap records of the year. Paris is an astute, cerebral MC with plenty to say and a fleet technique. He attacks the white establishment and the socio-political scene with an unflinching honesty. A black nationalist, Paris is still willing to critique the African-American community as he laments black-an-black violence ("Days of Old") "and playing the white man's game ("Sleeping with the Enemy"). Over spare, funky beats, Paris drops his science with a clipped precision; and his diction is as hypnotic as his words are provocative. The fact, that this compelling disc almost never saw the light is an ominous sign for the music industry.