Po Broke Souls album was a hip hop album that got lost in the rise of East Coast rap as that sub-genre of hip hop/rap was becoming mainstream and marketable in 1992. Po Broke Souls album unfortunately was lost in the shuffle of East Coast rap and gangsta rap. You can expect songs filled with 100% hip hop, urban sounds, loudness, and songs that rely heavily on samples. So don’t be surprised if you hear samples on these songs. There is no wack shit here.
The socially conscious Rappin’ Black In A White World explains how black people see a white world. The socially conscious Three Dimensions Of Racism tackles issues of racism. One song on this album that stands out is Down On The Corner due to the heavy reliance Clearwater Creedence Revival sample. Cut Out The Wack Shit aggressively calls out radio stations for playing music that is wack. Ain’t Shit Up! is a straight up lyrical freestyle which is also a posse cut laced with heavy boom bap beats.
Not too many people know but Po Broke Souls was part of the DFC family circle with MC Breed. So it makes sense that Po Broke Souls followed in MC Breed’s footsteps. Breed even makes an appearance on one of the songs.
We In Here is the opener for this album which explains how Po Broke Souls had to pay a lot of dues to make a lot of move and get respect in their hometown. Po Broke Souls performed shows with the greats such as Maad Circle, Geto Boys, 2nd II None, DJ Quik, MC Breed, and DFC just to name a few. They were constantly touring. That was before they even had an album out. Their touring and performances are what got them respect in their hometown. We In Here samples Prince – If I Was Your Girlfriend with double layers of tambourines used of a thin layer of beats.
Playing For Keeps was the Flint version of Jackin 4 Beats before DOA – Runnin Scared was recorded. The song uses several samples. Playing For Keeps uses more samples than any of the other songs on this album. In fact this song uses several layers of Which is why this song stands out.
Riff to this song primarily relies on the sample of James & Bobby Purify – I’m Your Puppet. Mainly during the hook is when the riff from James & Bobby Purify – I’m Your Puppet is used. This sample is also used during breaks.
Playing For Keeps uses these samples: James & Bobby Purify – I’m Your Puppet, Sly & the Family Stone – Sing a Simple Song, Kool & the Gang – Love the Life You Live, Curtis Mayfield – Superfly, N.W.A -Real Niggaz, Low Profile – Aladdin’s on a Rampage, The Staple Singers – I’ll Take You There, Ice Cube – What They Hittin’ Foe?, James Brown – Funky Drummer, Ice Cube – Endangered Species (Tales From the Darkside), Wilson Pickett – Get Me Back on Time, Engine #9, and Trouble Funk – Pump Me Up.
No “Wack Shit” Radio serves as a radio stager for the song Cut Out The Wack Shit. No “Wack Shit” Radio only plays the best of music. One thing I can say is that this beat is sick.
Cut Out The Wack Shit aggressively calls out radio stations for playing wack music. Po Broke Souls takes a stance against pop rap as they call out wack rappers on the song. Wack rappers and groups that get played on the radio lack chivalry and calvary. This Flint shit goes hard especially against any song currently played on the radio.
Not only did the city of Calgary, Alberta in Canada get mentioned in the first verse. That is because the city of Calgary showed love and gave positive reception to Po Broke Souls when they did a show in Canada. American hip hop/rap had a huge market in Canada at that time. That is what the lyrics “chivalry in Calgary” is referring to.
PM Dawn got dissed in the first verse too. Not surprising since PM Dawn was getting dissed by everyone back in the early 90’s. One can say PM Dawn got dissed again.
Make Dat Move is about a young man who falls in love with a lady. This lady plays hard to get and ignores him. So the man decides to step and make that move to persuade her to fall in love with him. He steps up his game by going the intellectual route. This man has integrity. His pretending days are over.
Make Dat Move uses a subtle delicate piano sample over heavy hip hop beats and vocalism. The subtle delicate piano sample is what makes this song stand out and memorable.
One member of Po Broke Souls decided to go the intellectual route by using advanced vocabulary. Here is an example of intellectual lyrics that are used in this song. “I fired intellectual missiles/And swept the lady of her feet/By the way she was conversing, I was figuring she was older”
Gettin’ Blew Out is another posse cut on the album. This song is dedicated to bud. The crew is getting blew out and tore up. Gettin’ Blew Out had potential to have been a full song but wasn’t for whatever reason.
Rappin’ Black In A White World explains how black people see a white world. The song also tackles issues about racism. They also call the government out for their crooked behavior and actions. Po Broke Souls takes a stance against racism.
Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut relies heavily on James Brown samples. That is where the James Brown influence came from. Many Po Broke Souls songs were inspired by music from James Brown. They seemed to have loved his music and style.
Given the title and subject matter, Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut is a song about sex. The song has finesse and uses much prowess. The song title of Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut comes from lyrics to Onyx – Da New Niguz from their 1993 album Bacdafucup!.
Flint City is about how rough the streets of Flint, Michigan really are. Flint City samples Roger – So Ruff, So Tuff, Zapp – Playin’ Kind Of Ruff, and Zapp – Dance Floor.
Don’t Mess Around deals with the dangers of unprotected sex. Sexually transmitted diseases come from having unprotected sex. Don’t Mess Around samples EPMD – Who’s Booty and Brand Nubian – Slow Down.
Murder Rehearsal is Flint hip hop at its finest. The sounds coming from this song are dope. The song is laced with heavy toms, claps, and hi-hats. The heavy toms, claps, and hi-hats are what make the sounds from this song definitely dope.
Three Dimensions Of Racism tackles issues of racism. Po Broke Souls takes an anti-racist stance against racism by saying, “Fuck racism!”. Don’t make racist comments unless you’re ready for backlash. Racism is hidden in our system of government which is why we have systematic racism. For example a white employee being hired over a black employee.
Here the intro to this song borrows a sample from Don Lemon’s speech Am I Nigger?. Don Lemon’s speech reflects on respectability in politics and diversity of Black self conception. His speech mainly deals with Black self conception. Here is what is said at the very beginning of this song.: “Am I A Nigger? And if the answer is yes? Don’t be afraid to show it! Cause it’s the Nigger in you that makes you BLACK! Once you learn to hate it…”
Three Dimensions Of Racism another posse cut on the album that has some wild sounds. That makes sense because this song samples Zapp – Playin’ Kind Of Ruff. That is not a coincidence that Po Broke Souls used this Zapp sample in many of their other songs.
Ain’t Shit Up! is a straight up lyrical freestyle which is also a posse cut laced with heavy boom bap beats. That is not a coincidence most songs on this album are posse cuts. This song uses an interpolation of Zapp – Playin’ Kind Of Ruff.
Down On The Corner stands out to the heavy reliance on the Clearwater Creedence Revival sample. You can hear vocals from Clearwater Creedence Revival – Down On The Corner that use lyrics from the chorus which are “down on the corner”. Now these dudes out of Flint were spitting some of the hardest shit out at that time. This is true hip hop in pure unfiltered form.
Hurricane Dewaun spit some of the hardest shit out at that time on this song as well. He took control of most of this song.
Down On The Corner samples Clearwater Creedence Revival – Down On The Corner, Kurtis Blow – The Breaks, Geto Boys – Life In The Fast Lane, and Boogie Down Productions – Material Love. Other samples and vocal clips are thrown into the production for this song.
The Eulogy serves as the closer and features Prison City Posse (PCP) out of Jackson, Michigan. The Eulogy serves as yet another posse cut and dedication song. Samples used on The Eulogy are Bloodstone – Natural High and Rick James – Mary Jane.
The reason why Prison City Posse made an appearance on The Eulogy is because Hurricane Dewaun rapped on the song Bxtches Love A Ganxta on the 1992 album Prison City Posse – Thru The Eyes Of A Nigga. Po Broke Souls invited Prison City Posse to be on The Eulogy.
I rate this album 4/5****!
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