Saul Williams- The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!

When I heard Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame was producing the new Saul Williams album I was automatically concerned. Would Reznor’s industrial inclinations cramp Saul’s hip-hop style? Would Trent ruin this album just as he has ruined everything he has touched in the last decade? Would Saul’s ghetto-poetic message be lost behind a hideous wall of noise? Thankfully this is not the case. This is one of the best hip-hop albums I have listened to in years and consistent with William’s previous work in terms of lyrical genius and musical innovation.

Saul Williams began his artistic career as an open mic poet from New York and went on to win many slam poetry awards. He has several collections of poetry published and is involved in a number of anti-war organisations as well as being a vocal critic of the Bush administration. His previous albums experimented with mixing electronica with hip-hop in an angry and energetic way. His lyrics focused on injustices in the world and on the problems he sees with the rising materialism and chauvinism in hip hop and black culture. His live performances are the stuff of legend and mixes performance poetry with almost aggressive yet affirmative music.

On Niggy Tardust the rhythms are hard and Saul leaves his comfort zone and is more willing to experiment with vocoders and other effects. The production is fantastic; Reznor’s expertise with complicated drum programming and creating atmospheric sounds brings out a new, deeper level in Saul’s songs. Unlike on his previous albums there is a bit more actual signing as apposed to rapping. Also Reznor’s presence is definatly audible with him guesting on a number of tracks. Yet, the mixture is good, at times the listener cannot hear where Saul ends and Trent begins. One of the many highlights of the album is the brilliantly punky cover of U2’s Sunday Bloody Sunday with guitars and beats bending perfectly around William’s voice. The title track NiggyTardust is an intelligent and humorous dig at the Fiddy Cents of the hip hop world.

To make an amazing album even better there is also the fact that Saul has gone down the Radiohead route of releasing this album for free on his website. Improving on the “In Rainbows” model you are offered the choice of downloading it for free or for $5. Also there are a range of high quality formats available to chose from. There will be a hard copy available on CD in 2008, but until then, do yourself a favour and get this album.