There couldn’t be a more perfect title for this album. Percee P is a true legend in the rap game, so it’s almost inconceivable that his full-length debut is just arriving now. To say that it’s worth the wait is a major understatement; very few emcees can stay active for almost 20 years and have the voracious hunger that Percee demonstratively maintained. With so much time between his 1988 single and this, his first solo LP, we expect a decline in lyrical skill, but that simply hasn’t happened. If anything, this man’s talent has only improved exponentially.
Perseverance rules your stereo for the better part of an hour and is absolutely relentless in its rhyme assault, with lines sharper than Afro Samurai’s sword. Madlib is the perfect compliment to Percee’s vocals, crafting hard-knocking beats while guest MC Aesop Rock quips, “Yeah that’s the dirt, yeah that’s the filthy.” Other guests such as Diamond D, Prince Po, Vinnie Paz, and Guilty Simpson hold their own on this album, but it’s ultimately Percee’s show. Still collapsing lungs with words and compelling countless rewinds from his listeners, Percee P outshines every two-decade old expectation. To expect him to do anything less would have been foolish.
