Prince Paul [ tickets ] has the mighty title of being one of rap music's production pioneers, and it's well deserved. The soundscapes and interludes that he created beginning with Stetsasonic and continuing with De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising, back in 1989 blew the hinges off anything done up until that point. It's with a sense of irony that his newest release, A Prince Among Thieves, in many ways falls apart for the some of the same reasons.

Conceived as a concept album, the rap equivalent of a rock opera, A Prince Among Thieves follows the story of True and Tariq. Friends since childhood, Tariq has tried to walk the straight and narrow, pursuing a career in rap music, while True has opted for the world of drugs and easy money. The story picks up on the verge of Tariq's meeting with the Wu-Tang Clan's RZA, to discuss his demo tape. Strapped for money to finish his demo, True convinces Tariq to deal drugs as a temporary financial fix.

What follows is the album equivalent of a cliched gangsta movie; an old time radio type drama featuring guns, drugs, women and what else...a drug lord named Mr. Large. All of which is sandwiched between rap tracks that also serve to propel the story.

Instead of guest rappers, the album features a cast, and a great cast it is. Rapper Breeze plays the part of Tariq, and he certainly succeeds in being the voice that holds most of the record together. Kool Keith is his usual cryptic self bragging about his wide variety of destructive devices on the Wu-like Weapon World. Everlast, in one of the better skit/songs on the album plays a cop who busts Tariq and then proceeds to rap about the toughness of the NYPD. Even long time buddies De La Soul show up in fine form on More Than You Know.

Unfortunately by the time Tariq's grandmother bails him out of jail, the entire concept has grown stale. In the liner notes, Prince Paul claims that he made the album to encourage art, creativity and sincerity, which is now at an all time low. It's hard to understand how a story about drugs, gangsters and friends gone bad really fulfills any creative void. Paul's last effort, What Is Psychoanalysis?, dazzled with it's much more abstract approach to high concept. Ultimately, the concept of this concept album has been done to death. The songs however, do dazzle, and if you can skip over the between song skits, there is a great rap album buried within.

Prince Paul / A Prince Among Thieves
Tommy Boy Records
2 1/2 out of 4 stars