“I wrote and recorded this album in the same week,” KRS-One says. That’s impressive if true; the Teacha is still a better rapper than most of his students; but there’s no excuse for the lack of proper hooks, though the boom bap tries to make up for it. Out For Fame didn’t need a half-assed remake, for instance, but the beat is raw.
The title track is a thought-provoking tale about two patients sharing a hospital room. It reminds fans how much of a compelling storyteller KRS-One can be, but more should’ve been done to reinforce the concept; Ill or Sick in the album title could’ve worked; so that it doesn’t come across so jarringly random where it is at the end.
my rating : 3 of 5
2017