I'm calling it now . independent album of the year goes to Rahm Nation's Ohene! Ohene's "Inner City Soul" is easily one of my favorite hip-hop albums of 2007 thus far, underground or mainstream, and is a masterpiece of poetic, lyrical and productive proportions. Every track on this album is dope; every verse is quotable; every song is both intellectually and socially significant. I just can't stop listening to this album, and I guarantee that most fans of meaningful conscious hip-hop will feel the same.

With "Inner City Soul," Ohene offers a wide array of tracks that serve to inform, inspire and motivate while all offering something unique to the listener. Tracks like Hello Stranger and Devils are advisory songs that encourage people to see the positive in negative situations. Stupid Minded and Church Girl are storytelling tracks the grab the listener's attention with a firsthand account of events and real life situations. Move and They Killed Jesus are gospel-flavored tracks that successfully blend hip-hop with a preacher-ish mentality and advice for struggling people.

We the People and What Will it Take contemplate social and political norms in society from an everyday perspective, while Apologize and Those Who Have Not examine current events and foreign policy from the eyes of poor and disadvantaged people. And My Piano and Say A Little Prayer, which showcases perhaps the album's tightest beat, allow Ohene to demonstrate his skills as a producer and emcee, with quicker rhymes and a variety of sounds and samples. Add on two interludes and a remix, and "Inner City Soul" becomes my personal must-have album of the year.

Normally, I try to pick out some topic present in an album to talk about in the review. However, Ohene's "Inner City Soul" contained so many interesting topics for discussion and quotable verses that I couldn't pick just one. Therefore, I would like to share with you three of my favorite verses from this album.

Hello Stranger
The opening track of "Inner City Soul" is Hello Stranger, a brilliant song that blends the soulful chorus of Nasheeda Shockley with three inspirational verses. Although the second and third verses were dedicated to women and disadvantaged people, the opening verse allowed Ohene to reflect on the things he's overcome to get here:

    It's been a long journey
    And I don't feel no way tired so there's nothing that can turn me
    Back around I been smacked around
    But the pain has propelled me and that's the crown
    Once bound by the shackles the world provides ya
    I try to prosper as a fatherless father
    I was raised on the streets of North Philly
    It cost me by childhood and tortured me
    Witnessing many homicides
    I tried to keep it together cause mom was high
    I got a secret to weather the crime inside
    And it's called the future so I'ma strive
    I feel like the savior that came with atonement
    To find most men only live for the moment
    Moses was an honest man
    Who never got to live in the Promised Land

This verse immediately jumped out at me due to its overly positive vibe. It's got to be hard for a "fatherless father" who witnessed "many homicides" living on the streets of Philadelphia to be able to view life as positive. Yet Ohene managed to "weather the crime inside," and the passion and dedication he gained from that clearly reflects in his music.

Those Who Have Not
My favorite song on this album, as difficult as it is to choose just one, is Those Who Have Not, a heartfelt track that contemplates society, politics and foreign affairs with a dedication to "those who have not." This song contained my favorite verse on the entire album . a verse that speaks to drug dealers on behalf of those who were affected by knowing an addict:

    Y'all brothers rapping about crack need to know the truth
    My mother was the one you probably even sold it to
    I owe it to you those nights she was missing from trickin'
    Slittin' her wrists in the kitchen and wishin'
    That she was deceased, Denise was here name
    But Denise is your sister so you should be ashamed
    Denise is your auntie so you should be to blame
    Since Denise is your people with needles in her veins
    And I'm your brother, I'm Neecee's son
    I know what it is to be broke believe me son
    I know what it is to think coke can feed me son
    I got truth I don't need these ones
    Or need these guns to feel safe when I walk the streets
    I got peace why I need a piece?
    Y'all need relief you can't find inside of a crack rock
    And this is for those who have not

The brilliance of this verse lies behind Ohene's thought process that draws upon a familial relationship between drug dealer and drug addict. From his perspective, they are family, so the crack dealer that supplied his mother should be to blame for those nights he spent alone and scared as a child. This verse makes a lot of sense, especially in regards to hip-hop artists who brag about slangin' crack cocaine like it's something to be proud of. Instead, they should recognize the people they hurt and the families they tore apart in their selfish quests for money.

We the People
"Inner City Soul" closes with a couple tracks that are more politically based, one being We the People. This song speaks to our governmental representatives and criticizes their inability to truly represent their constituents. Ohene uses the following verse to speak directly to our country's politicians:

    We the people are sick of your politics
    Cause we know it's a pile of tricks
    Y'all smile at kids and shake hands just to win our vote
    But we ain't seen you in the hood before
    You need to be more honest and don't come with that false promise
    This time if we choose you then stick behind us
    You need to pay a visit to the place you govern
    But you won't cause you covered everyone but the colored
    But in the name of the slums and the villages
    Where either hunger or firearms kill my kids
    I'ma man up and stand up with my crew
    The Rahm Nation new patrons of truth
    You can see us on the block or the shelters y'all
    In the bar or the church where we help the lost
    Ain't no wealth involved only universal laws

This verse made me think about the all those cats out there campaigning in the 2008 presidential race. They travel all over the country trying to get people to vote for them but, as Ohene would say, "we ain't seen you in the hood before." It's amazing that politicians try to act like they represent us when they don't make the slightest effort to learn about who we really are or what we care about. Then when they're elected and break all their promises, they're not even held liable. And they wonder why most of us don't fuck with politics.

Ohene's "Inner City Soul" is filled with just this type of heartfelt introspective verses and songs. I could go on and on quoting verse by verse if I had the time. So pick up a copy of this exceptional album and listen for yourself. You will be glad that you did. Even if you've never listened to one single recommendation from Hip-Hop Linguistics, listen to this one: Cop this album! It very well could be the hip-hop album of the year. Peace.

4.5 out of 5

When you think of a "conscious emcee," what usually comes into mind? The super pro-black revolutionary who spends his time rhyming about how he can defeat "white devils" while snuggling up with his white girlfriend? The righteous, pretentious emcee who complains about drugs in the community but yet smokes more than Redman and Snoop Dogg combined? Let's face it, the so-called conscious emcee title doesn't have much of a reputation to be proud of these days. Frankly, it's not what's hot in the streets. I hate to label an artist, especially placing them under the "conscious emcee" bracket but few are able to pull off the conscious vibe without a pretentious attitude. Ohene, however, does this nicely on Inner City Soul.

First things first, the album is very spiritually-based, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that he spends his time standing on a podium condemning all blasphemers and sinners to the fiery lakes of hell. He does speak on the current situations of society, especially in “Apologize” where he raps: “I apologize to the kids born in poverty/whose elders are parents from heart disease/ whose fathers are deadbeat dads/ whose mamas are low incomes and can barely stand...” over a soft, melancholy guitar loop.

One thing that is missing in hip-hop is the ability to make complete albums. This does not apply to Ohene. He is able to touch on various topics, and talk about them from various angles. “They Killed Jesus” looks as if it could be a normal gospel tune based off the title alone, but Ohene is able to present this subject in a unique way. He spends his time rhyming about past revolutionary leaders who fought for what they believed in and died for the cause. “Church Girl” sums up the experience of a young woman looking for love in all the wrong places. Each song on this album may have the same underlying theme but it is approached in a different manner.

Ohene is quite a talented artist. He is able to write about various subjects without being completely repetitive and he produces the majority of his own work. Some may say that Inner City Soul is a bit too preachy, or they simply may not like some of the songs (I’ll admit, “Devils” is a bit cheesy and the beat does sound dated) but one cannot deny the fact that Ohene has accomplished what most “conscious” emcees haven’t which is to convey his messages without expressing a pompous attitude. Artists that fall under the dreaded “conscious” label, should take note on how to do it right.

- James Smith

Ohene :: Inner City Soul :: RAHM Nation Recordings
as reviewed by Rowald Pruyn

Religion runs through Ghana's veins. Almost two thirds of one of West Africa's most prosperous country's population goes to church every Sunday. And another twenty percent prays towards Mecca. You can take the Ghanaian out of his country, but you cannot take the religion out of the Ghanaian. Ohene, whose roots are firmly set in both Africa and America, combines the ardent godly devotion of his birth country with his love for hip-hop. The church should have more preachers like him.

God and me are not on the same page. I have been raised an atheist. I have seen, or read about, too many conflicts sprung from one's true faith, which turned out to be the other's poison. The rituals and rhetoric look fascinating, though alien to me. And most importantly: I do not appreciate referees telling me which rules to play by when they are not sure themselves how to interpret them.

That also means that I, as a reviewer, am not immediately the best person to assess one of these referees. Ohene, who grew up in both dusty Ghana alleys and the rough streets of Philadelphia, is not only an able MC. He also stands for Christian values like celibacy before marriage and disciplined church visits. But this is about hip-hop music, not about religious differences. And because Ohene mostly tells about his devotion instead of imposing it upon me, he gives me a chance to listen with an open visor.

A piano or organ is as indispensable on church grounds as a font or altar. Ohene`s bio discloses he started playing the piano in his early teens. It is great he learned to play Bach and Mozart, but more importantly: he has been able to implement his own key strokes into his musical compositions. On virtually any track of "Inner City Soul" the piano is alternately an underlying or dominant element of the beats, which adds to the consistency of the album. Ohene reveres this musical instrument so much he even composed a serenade for it. Oddly enough, I didn't think the chopped key ensemble was really that good, especially if you consider the track is called "My Piano." But this resident of the City of Brotherly Love makes up for that wholeheartedly:

"Ebony, ivory: you gotta feel what's inside of me
Every time we separate, I'm at a lesser fate
I'm in a lesser place than where I was
When I was with you, now it's official
The reason that I feel the way I feel when I miss you
Missing you so much whenever we don't touch
You know I'm about go out of my mind: It's so tough
The pain is so much: I'm going to need a word from Oprah
My life is over when I can't stroke ya
If I can't poke ya, then no one can poke ya
To poke ya is love, and it's love I'm going to show ya
I'm your soldier, and you're my army
And you're my navy, baby: it's crazy
The waves we create is amazing creation
With us there's no way separating
It just don't stop"

From a cynical, atheist point of view, I would say there is a lot of sexual frustration building up inside this principally celibate cat. I, however, cannot help appreciating his heartfelt words and original approach. Because of his church upbringing, the gospel influences in his music are hard to miss. The percussive strokes on "Say a Little Prayer" would suit the magnus opus of a church hymn well. Songs like "Move" and "Stupid Minded" sounded similar to soulful spirituals from the cotton fields of the old south. The second version of "Hello Stranger" even features the warm voices of female gospel singers to make it abundantly clear.

Besides providing him with inspiration, the church must have been a welcome shelter to Ohene. On more than one occasion, he speaks about personal poverty, the temptations of street life, and the loss of his crack addicted mother. ("I was raised by a dope fiend, and a grandmother that would smoke weed"). He addresses those heavy topics in a matter-of-fact way, but sometimes he cannot avoid sounding bitter about others deliberately making the mistakes he avoided himself, like on "Those Who Have Not":

"Y'all brothers rapping about crack need to know the truth
My mother was the one you probably sold it to
I owe it to you the nights she was missing from tricking
Slitting her wrists in the kitchen and wishing she was deceased
Denise was her name
But Denise was your sister, so you should be ashamed
Denise is your auntie, so you should be to blame
Since Denise is your people, with needles in her veins
And now I am your brother, I am 'Nise's son
I know what it is to be broke, believe me son
I know what it is to think coke and feed me, son
I got truth: I don't need these ones or need these guns
To feel safe when I walk these streets
I got peace; why do I need a piece?"

I'm not saying he has no right to be accusing, but it immediately turns him into a missionary instead of a musician. The word 'should' makes the hairs on the back of my atheist arms stand up. Added to that, his plea is probably to deaf ears. He should rather focus his attention on more positive things, but I think my ´should´ will make the hairs on the back of his Christian arms stand up.

"Inner City Soul" stays compelling due to Ohene's voice control. For what I have been told, an apt clergyman knows how to explain the rules, but also brings his audience to ecstasy by straining and flexing his vocal chords. When I heard the forceful "They Killed Jesus" I could appreciate those qualities, even though I was listening to an MC instead of a preacher. Many an MC finds a rhyme pattern he feels comfortable with, and uses it up past the warranty date. The Philadelphian rhymer knows how to vary his syllables to keep them fresh throughout the album. His self-conscious voice with a minor sandpaper edge prevents him from sounding like the hip-hop version of the esteemed reverend Al Green.

As I never witnessed a sermon in person, this review is based upon hear-say. I do believe, however, a preacher playing the piano, who has the ability to snakecharm the crowd with his voice, is a welcome addition to the burgeoning Philly hip-hop scene. Go look him up in one of the local churches or concert halls if you get a chance to. I won't take the words of this referee as the gospel truth, but I am happy to listen to him.

Music Vibes: 8 of 10 Lyric Vibes: 8.5 of 10 TOTAL Vibes: 8.5 of 10

Originally posted: March 27, 2007
source: www.RapReviews.com

Is there even a point to acknowledging an emcee for putting out material that’s smarter and a lot more eclectic than the norm? I mean, the so often grouped together De La and Roots Crew have been pushing this shit for more than a decade. And with the resurrection of Common, and the successes of Talib, Lupe, Kanye, Mos Def, and the like, this shit isn’t all that rare anymore. Enter, The Rapademics a re-release of the dope 2004 LP by Philly’s own Ohene (pronounced Ô-hen-ĕ).

Ohene takes what seems to be a scientific approach to building the LP. Don’t worry, you’re not going to get a lot of intellectual, scholastic imagery and shit that’s near impossible to understand, that’s not what The Rapademics is. What Ohene does is provide a consistent and steady themed record, on what makes a true emcee. The opening Forword kicks this off by listing the real emcees in the game, new school and old.

Sticking to the formula, we get tracks like The Epitome (of Rap), 3rd Bar Invention, Rhymes 4.0, and Renaissance, and you get the idea of how talented the dude can be. Where critiquing (see: talking shit about) the current state of hip-hop and how pathetically simple the lot of it is, Ohene opts to lead by example, spitting some the most intricate and sharply written bars this side of Common.

Special attention should be given to the man’s ability to tell a story. The Grandfather’s Paradox is a narrative where Ohene travels back in time and accidentally fucks with his grandparents hooking up, thus erasing his existence. A Two Fold Tale shows off his creativity. Introducing the concept of Neo-Cubism, Ohene seamlessly blends two stories together so that one plays in the left speaker and the other in the right. By telling two stories (simultaneously) about meeting a man who forces him to re-evaluate his life, Ohene makes sure your rewind button gets put to good use. As Lupe is best known for today, and Slick throughout history, O forces you to envision his world via witty wordplay and a heartfelt imagination.

The album standout is the genius that is The Eraz of Flow. Everyone loves to rhyme over classic beats and say their paying homage, but this track takes that idea and beats its brains in. In 93 seconds he laces together work from Run-DMC, Boogie Down Productions, De La, Das EFX, Snoop, Naugthy By Nature, Jay-Z and Craig Mack (at least!) so tightly it’s almost hard to believe. Not only does the production serve as a shrine, but the rhymes form a narrative that is downright incredible. I usually don’t like saying shit like, “If you don’t like this, you don’t like hip-hop”, but fuck, if you don’t like this, you don’t like hip-hop.

A while back, in my piece on Wade Waters, I wrote, “It’s funny, once a upon a time we praised the likes of Kanye, Roots Crew, and Little Brother for being a “breath of fresh air.” I don’t think we can say that anymore. This is hip-hop.” And truth be told, I was about to say the exact same shit again before I realized how stupid it’d be. The problem is that there’s so many dope acts putting out dope music that soul/funk/jazz/blues/rock infused hip-hop is no longer unique. But the more I think about it, that’s a pretty damn good problem to have.

Now I'm in no way a spiritual man, so why in the world would I choose to review an album that is heavy on the spiritual content? Simply put, its something that while not spiritual the fact that theres a message that needs to be heard in it makes me shout with joy. I've been listening to this album for a bit now trying to figure out exactly how I would break this album down considering I can't personally say the spiritual message touches me. However when listening to Ohene on "Inner City Soul" I realized while I'm not overly spiritual and have a strong stance on a lot of religious beliefs, the man's message and the way he uses his message in his lyrics does touch me and lets me relate. Maybe not in the way he originally intended but as Ohene says in “Hello Stranger”, "Music is supposed to show the way and it will one day".

I'm not saying this album makes me more spiritual in the least but I'm saying it opens doors for me to relate to on a thought base. Production wise the groove is perfect for Ohene's voice and rhymes as its a more relaxing setting. Personally I was impressed with his production work on "Inner City Soul" but not as much as I was impressed by the fact that he cares more about his message and making it sound GOOD. For example on “Apologize”, the beat while nice is nothing your going to be wanting to bump out of your car as your cruising or your in the club but the message in it is something I wish they would play at the clubs, especially the second verse. “I apologize that this nation still got racists, lets face it theres hatred in segregation, I'm still the nigger America hates me, mainly because of how the news portrays me. They make me out to be this lazy foul, mouth gang banger who won't raise his child. Thats why the cops always harrassin us, try to show em ID they start blastin us, they heard to many raps of us, with cats that cuss but on the real that aint half of us. Many of us wanna spit stuff that matters, but the label change it when your subject matters, but this is so the kids of the hood can cuss too, and hustla like the emcees they look up to, much to our own demise we are shown to die and so for that I apologize”. The man touches on a spiritual base but goes so much deeper.

The really great thing about this album is he keeps this up the whole way through. "Stupid Minded" is more of a track showing how he has seen women and he himself has been "Stupid Minded" with the way they live. "Church Girl" is dedicated to the "Church Girl" and its more spiritual based and how the "Church Girl" is always looking for a man in the Church. It's a story wrapped inside of a message and is beautifully told. "They Killed Jesus" while on the spiritual tip has an amazing sound to it and the opening bars are amazing. “I started writing gospel raps, to dealing with these hostile cats, and feeling as if god was mad, cuz the people took me off his path, I was supposed to be like Dr King but I let the critics stop the dream, so I went from Dr King to forget yall I'm the king”. The track goes more into a serious minded spiritual release after that.

“My Piano”, “Those Who Have Not”, “Move”, “Devils”, “We The People”, and “What Will It Take” are also very dope songs that flesh out the album amazingly well. Each song is strongly backed by Ohene's lyrics which whether wrote in an eccentric manner or not build the album amazingly and not all of them are on a spiritual tip, "We The People" for example is not spiritually based. There are two tracks that I really feel the need to touch down on a lot more though. “Hello Stranger (3:4)” which is a different version of the opening track “Hello Stranger” and when I say different track, I mean its complete new lyrics. And is the perfect ending to the album and an unusual ending to an album. Most emcees will not use the same beat and sample on the same album, however apparently Ohene's story is best told over the “Hello Stranger” as this is more of a personal view on his life and his parents and is nothing short of a wonderful song on the end.

The other track though is called “Say A Prayer”. Now this song is on a more up-tempo beat and the way Ohene changes flows over it is nothing short of impressive and the lyrics are amazing as well which further proves people should stop sleeping on Ohene as hes perhaps one of the freshest lyricist I've heard recently. What really stands out to me on this though is Ohene's second verse in which he openly states how half the emcees wanna spit the truth while the other half just want the loot. So instead of just attacking the labels he spreads some of the blame out on his fellow emcees. This was nice.

Overall while not the music that you will hear over your radio or on MTV, since he says were at war with VIACOM on "Say A Prayer", who owns MTV, the album is nothing short of impressive. The way it stays consistent on the messages and spiritual tip alone makes it stand out but the way Ohene never seems to fall short on any of the tracks but instead delivers over each one of them is indeed impressive. Its hard to believe that out of 13 tracks that round out 57 minutes of music I dont feel the need to turn it off but I can spin this album back to back constantly for hours. Definatly a sleeper album and one you should check out it gets a 4.5 out of 5 from me.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Crowns.

Written By James Britt

Are you sitting down? Good. Now take a deep breath. Ready? The only local emcee close to the lyrical dexterity of Ohene (pronounced OH' Henny) is Last Emp. Ohene will come to be known as the KRS-ONE of the new millennium. Mark my words. Ohene is going to go down as one of the greatest emcees in the history of Philadelphia. I'm sure most of y'all are accusing me of going overboard. I guarantee that after listening to The Rapademics, you'll come to see things my way. This man's rhymes will give your brain a entertainingly vigorous workout.

The Rapademics succeeds on the strength of Ohene's confident delivery, delicious syntax, smoothly transitioning from casual smoothness to authoritative exclamations and back. The production throughout is smartly sparse, serving as a perfect Robin to Ohene's Batman. While the production is in fact sparse, every aspect of it is extremely well done and drops with an understated aplomb. Intelligent reigns throughout. This North Philadelphia artist spins vivid tales that force the listener to envision his words come to life as on the multi-layered dual historical consciousness of Grandfather Paradox (sure to draw comparisons to Last Emp), the masterful lyrical grand slam Epilogue (Neo-Cubism) and its challenging multi-meaning tale of a blind man that forces you to rewind again and again to fully comprehend. Ohene exerts the rare skill set needed to completely captivate the ear while going north of two minutes on O-MC2 acapella. Again, comparisons to The Blastmaster will surface, yet O has a distinctly unique style. The man is soooooooo learned and exact with his subject matter that it is received like a crack head receives a rock. Classic is the only word that does justice to the "jackin' for beats" motiff of Eraz Of Flow. Here we find Ohene taking the listener on a lyricallesson through the different eras of Hip Hop, making good use of RUN-DMC, Boogie Down Poductions, Naughty By Nature, De La Soul, Das EFX, Dr. Dre & Snoop Doggy Dogg, Craig Mac, Common and more sound samples to drive the point on home. You gotta hear it to believe it.

Ohene's persona is a greatly needed and welcomed diversion from the overwhelmingly negative stereotypes that the majors maniaclistically force feed to the poverty stricken sufferers who are mislead into believing that they're trapped in a mental wasteland. O steps up to inject the downtrodden with the exact serum needed to wake them from their deep street sleep. Do whatever you need to do to add this album to your collection.

I leave you with the following from Ohene's It Is O: "now cue your tape for the winter time, now it's time for the renesance, many times I done told y'all charlatans do the right thing, now knowin' the power y'all music might bring, you oscilate between a lot of fake obscene kind of snakes who fiend for a lot of cake, that ain't the type with which I like to conversate, I'm tryin' to take my mind to the kind of place, visited by Da Vinci and Beethoven, my symphonies were foretold when they told em', cats didn't respect it, nonetheless my art survived the archive and became the best..."

Rapademics is the debut album from Ohene, an MC affiliated with the Philadelphia crew RAHM Nation. If the current state of hip-hop is in a state of detention, then Ohene could easily be called a teacher ready to instruct and teach lessons that have been collecting dust in the last few years. Ohene is a rapper who demands that you listen to him, and hearing his music feels like he’s looking at you, with finger in your face, ready to bombard you with the kind of lyrics that become burned in your memory without your knowledge. Perhaps that’s the point, for he is the one that is providing knowledge. Not a follower, but someone who definitely will be setting some examples for the next few years. I could go on and on about how great the production is, but the emphasis here is on the lyrics and the lyricist, the writer and the messenger.