or better or worse, we here at Stylus, in all of our autocratic consumer-crit greed, are slaves to timeliness. A record over six months old is often discarded, deemed too old for publication, a relic in the internet age. That's why each week at Stylus, one writer takes a look at an album with the benefit of time. Whether it has been unjustly ignored, unfairly lauded, or misunderstood in some fundamental way, we aim with On Second Thought to provide a fresh look at albums that need it.

A quick analysis of hip-hop songs shows that they can be broken down into two major categories: beats and rhymes. Therein lies the reason that a large amount of albums that don’t have both can be loved by so many- it all depends on the listener’s preference of whether they like beats or rhymes better. Ras Kass’ album Soul on Ice is a prime example of this. Some fans absolutely love this album and proclaim Ras Kass the savior of hip-hop, and some find him to be a great rapper with utterly mediocre production. This is why you could never term Soul on Ice, Ras Kass’ greatest album, a classic album. But, due to his incredible lyrical proficiency you could never term it a flop, either.

Those who listen to the production only on hip-hop albums will be probably disappointed. This album, production wise, falls far short of other albums of the era that have attained classic status: Illmatic, The Chronic, and Ready to Die. The song with the best beat, in fact, isn’t heard on the regular pressings of the album (“Soul on Ice” remix by Diamond D). However, there are still a few “diamonds” in the rough as far as production goes. Voodu, a producer never to be heard from, especially shines. His dark production on “Nature of the Threat” and “The Evil that Men Do” set the stage well for the lyrics, but would have benefited from some extra flourishes here and there to add a greater sense of depth They’re nice beats, assuredly, but it seems that he is trying too hard to achieve something that is out of his reach.

Not too much else from the production stands out, honestly. The only thing that keeps one minimalistic approach to a song distinct from another is the vocal samples. “Etc.”, a laid back track following the shock of “The Nature of the Threat”, features a Black Moon sample that fits perfectly and is a perfect example of a West Coast track from the period. In addition, the first single, “Anything Goes”, features another one of those samples that is so familiar, but impossible to pin down. For those playing at home it’s Al B. And although the rest of the production on the song, by Ras Kass and Bird Holdby , is kind of bland, it does fit together somewhat nicely. That’s exactly how the rest of the production is: passable but not fantastic.

What IS fantastic are the lyrics. And how fantastic they are. For example, the song “Nature of the Threat” is an exploration of racism throughout history. It will make white people cringe, and it will make scholars laugh. The ideas, from the book Soul on Ice by black revolutionary Eldrige Cleaver, are outlandish and many of them are flat out wrong, but you can’t slam a man down for having theories, can you? Especially when he displays them in forms such as “Spartacus Revolt, a slave rebellion that lost / Where 6,000 slaves was nailed on a cross / Cross? Aw, shit! Jesus Christ! Time for some-act-right / Christians get your facts right / Cause Christ was not his name / That's Greek for "One who is anointed" / Yoshua Ben Yosef was his name, do Christians know this? / So who do you praise, do you know his name? /Or do you do this in vain?” Along with “Nature of the Threat”, songs like “Reelishymn”, which attacks the state of hip-hop, and “The Evil that Men Do”, a song fighting back against his father for ruining his life, create a mostly macabre album. “Ordo Abchao (Order out of Chaos)” is another threatening track, with production by Voodu, and totally rips into the world’s politics with lines like “But WHO murdered Africa the World Health Organization / Before 1978 there was no blood with AIDS contamination / It ain't little green monkeys / It's little white honkeys crossing bouing leukemia with sheep visnna virus / As set tore out the iris of Horus, and Isis loved Osiris / Black men is blinded, while black women look for real men but can't find it” It’s dark and foreboding, but it’s not without its bright spots.

Don’t forget. This is a West Coast album. Thus it’s not without a little gangsta flava. “Miami Life” was the first video, from the Substitute soundtrack, and it’s a fun song about life in Miami. It has a lot of crossover appeal, as the metaphors are clever but simple, like “want more cheese than Kraft Ravioli”. In addition, “Drama”, “Sonset” and “Marinatin’” are classic west-coast tracks. “Sonset” especially represents the west well, with lyrics that shout out the left coast: “Not proof of New York residence and an accent / Who expresses the freshest the / West Coast was resurrected / By me, I'm the mother fuckin' man like homo erectus.” He’s nearly flawless in whatever he raps about, but perhaps because of his lackluster production he may just be the best MC you’ve never heard of.

Everyone and their mother said that with good beats, Ras Kass would make a complete classic. Two albums after that, featuring tracks by DJ Premier, Dr. Dre and Rockwilder.. he still hasn’t matched the awe and skill of Soul on Ice. Has he gotten lazy or happier? It’s one of life’s mysteries. For now, we’re left with one of the most next level albums of all time, lyrically. One that might not make sense until 2012.