So here's the deal: In '91, '94 and '97, Queens, NY duo Organized Konfusion released a trio of cult-revered albums that established Prince Po and Pharoahe Monch as stalwarts of New York's bubbling underground. Monch in particular, with a herkyjerkymultisllyabicfantastic cadence and penchant for high-concept songwriting, was primed for a fruitful solo career by the time he released Internal Affairs.
And Monch has had an undeniably fruitful career. For twenty-five-plus years he's been a standard bearer as a "rapper's rapper," released four strong, cerebral albums, and earned himself a seat in New York's pantheon of all-time lyricists. What makes Internal Affairs so unique is that it both enabled and inhibited Monch's ascension. It was leagues more aggressive than anything Monch released as half of OK, without compromising the lyrical ability that brought him his early success. The irony lies in the iconic single "Simon Says," which simultaneously thrust Monch into viable commercial stardom, and had him pulled from shelves. The notorious anthem sampled "Gojia Tai Mosura," aka the theme from Godzilla vs. Mothra (1992), but was never properly cleared, which led to a copyright infringement lawsuit, which led to a stop in Internal Affairs' distribution , which led to an almost decade-long gap between Monch's debut and sophomore albums, which led to the sort of canonization only attainable by lost treasures such as Internal Affairs.
Anywhoo, after twenty long years, Internal Affairs has received the print and distribution it deserved in it's heyday. Simon Says, pick one up.
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