Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury

was kind of enjoying this at first but then started to feel like i was being lectured. as others have said here it's just way way too on the nose. 10/10 name though. also yeah, v sobering that lyrically, so much of this could've been released in recent years.

It's a real shame that this is the only album these guys ever made, they could have gone so far. I don't think that this is anything too special, but it's a damn good start to what could have been an amazing discography. The lyrics are definitely the highlight here, and it's almost scary how the political commentary actually feels even more relevant now, which for an album that's over 30 years old is insane. I do love this style of lyricism, no sugarcoating, no metaphors, just pure political criticisms presented in the most harsh and direct way there is. But beyond how great this album is for its lyrics, the music is the part that they really still needed to improve on. On the whole I find this to be dull, monotonous, and repetitive. The actual music itself barely held my attention, and I was only pulled back into being invested in the album when I started hearing him talk about political issues I care about. With more refining and a more captivating sound all around, we could have had one of the greatest hip hop acts of the 90s. But unfortunately, all we are left with is the blueprints for a fantastic album, and a group that broke up too soon.

Interesting stuff, had heard that one song before. Tracks are too slow and too long. Oddly quaint and 90s of course. Who would have thought things would get so much worse. 2.5 rounded up Heard before? No Owned: No, 106/410 (25%) Will I get: No

Theoretically this should be directly in my wheelhouse, but it just didn’t connect with me

Political speeches spoken slowly over old hip hip beats. Title of each track is repeated about 200 times per song

I’d rather be listening to Public Enemy.

Solid stuff, great beats

Early 90s moody hip hop, excellent

Man, this album is hard to rate. He is absolutely speaking facts I will not deny that, but his delivery comes off a bit cringe in 2026. For 92 he was absolutely ahead of the times. For that I cannot give it less than a 3 but the production and mixing is quite bad, also the writing isn’t particularly good or clever, just facts. If this album was produced like a public enemy album which is what it almost sounds like it wants to be, it would have been significantly better.

Very poignant writing, even almost a quarter century later. Unfortunately it’s hindered by its mediocre production and boring delivery.

Something of a combination between Gil Scott-Heron and Public Enemy. Not quite as explosive as PE. Favorites were Television The Drug Of The Nation, Music And Politics, and California Uber Alles

Chuck D just phoned, he wants his style back

Music and politics. I loved listening to this.

Still applies today honestly

I thought i would enjoy this and the music makes a promising start, but it’s all a bit samey. The delivery being deep and rhythmic felt like something that would showcase the aware lyrics, but by ‘Language of violence’ nothing really registered as it feels like rap to fall to sleep to. Perhaps the intention is for the messaging to subconsciously enter your mind, but awake its just not happening. The length of the tracks dont help either. ‘ The Winter of the long hot summer’ tips the eight minute mark and is just dull. ‘Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury’ at last finally injects some life into proceedings, both in teems of music and musically delivery. This is continued through the next track, but comes to an abrupt end after that. ‘Financial leprosy’ and ‘California uber ales’ are probably the most explicit attempt to occupy Public Enemy territory, but they just deliver with far greater urgency and energy….and my god the repetition grates. Is the messaging on this album worthy of attention, undoubtedly but that doesn’t make it a good or enjoyable listen. Would bet served to just read the lyrics.

I have no idea who this is, but I quite liked it - I liked the music, I liked his voice, and the lyrics absolutely are worth paying attention to. Undoubtedly there were other artists saying the same thing - and saying it better - at the time, but this is decent. It’s probably a 2.5 for me, and I considered rounding up, but it’s not quite strong enough for a 3.

I listened to this after waking up at 4am and being unable to get back to sleep. I went to sleep while listening to it. Now, I think it was lack of sleep as an issue, rather that the quality of the album, because I didn't entirely hate it. Satanic Reverses did feel a bit like a lecture (despite my politics meaning I agree with the sentiment) but it was ok musically, if too long. And that was a bit of a theme: alright but almost every track was too long, mostly because of the skit-adjacent intros. It all feels a bit preachy/worthy, rather than empowering, in terms of its politics and I'm not sure why I felt that way to be honest given I like a lot of other 'political' artists. It's sort of disturbing how similar the themes are from this 1992 album to current events though. I have to admit, the Dead Kennedys track turning up was a surprise to say the least. I would absolutely prefer the original. 2/5

First listen Saved 3/13

Pretty good rapping. Overall a decent album. I wouldn't have guessed it was Industrial Hip-hop. Most of the instrumentation was alright.

Arresting, tell-it-like-it-is, personal and political, in your face, feels very timely still. The only Cola I support is a C-O-L-A union cost of living adjustment!

Another California Uber Alles has hit the 1001 albums listening list

That was a lot

Really hits all of the topics. Great beats

I wish this wasn't still so freaking relevant.

Some hard hitting lyrics

Dated but the lyrics and message are strong and still apply today unfortunately

It’s not bad, but a lot of these rhymes and awkward puns feel like first drafts Chuck D or ZDLR would discard and improve upon. Ultimately, despite sharing some common cause with Franti’s politics (which...are a bit of a grab gag), the failings here are songs that are incredibly long, a preachiness that lacks a gift for sweet (which Franti later tried to correct), and a flow that needed some polish.

I like this

This is a spoken word album, not a hip hop album. But hats off to the anger and rage at this fucking shit state of a planet. 30 years old and we are no better, most likely worse than the world inhabited and raged against when this album was released. Sigh.

5 keepers in 13 (38%). The California Uber Alles cover/mashup is pretty sweet. 2 stars.

Good songs good mix between hiphop and jazz

Probably the hip hop album that has appealed most so far. I like the lyrics and the vocal style, could have been a 4 but for the turntable noises which continue to be aversive. 3.5

This is fairly good conscious rap for its time. Musically, its pretty good, but not overwhelming, but lyrically, I feel torn. Part of me thinks that Michael Franti's on-the-nose style is needed, to not mince words and say exactly what is wrong in all these complicated issues. Another part of me wishes there was a bit more artistry or metaphor in his lyrical style, because sometimes it ends up sounding clunky. There's also some oddly tacky lyrics here sprinkled throughout. There's good ideas here that are done okay, and it's obvious there's still power in the message (and how little has changed!), but it's not as compelling as it could be because of the lyrical style.

Interesting album. I didn't think I'd care much for it after an initial listen, but somehow it grew and mostly works.

it was okay I guess but nothing I would save

I will do my homework, dad. You don't need to keep lecturing me. This album reminded me of a friend I knew in college, who was very serious about letting everyone know what a serious person he is. On this album, every song is a lecture and he's most interested in giving you the opportunity to hear him talk. And boy, does he talk. 6 of the 13 songs crack the 5-minute mark. Michael Franti has read a few books, and you won't even need the CliffNotes to know what happened in the books, because he is going to share all that he learned with you. Because see, he's educated and reads books. You should read books like he reads books. You should be smart like he is smart. You should read the books and then maybe then you can be on his educational level and talk about the very serious things that he reads about. Did you know corporations try to make money and they are very good at it? Our public schools are failing our children. Did you know that? Homophobia exists. Were you aware of that? Michael Franti is aware of that because he reads books. He's educated. Television is not good for children and it's making us all dumber. Michael Franti does not watch television, which means he is smart. In the year 1992, he is aware of all social issues and wars going on, and yes, he watched television to hear about all of this, but the difference is Michael Franti is smart and watches television to be smart, while all the others watch television to be stupid because they are stupid and he's educated. We have the luxury to be hypocrites because we are from America and America is definitely bad because they start wars. Did you know about wars? Have you heard of these wars that occur? Probably not, because you don't read the books and watch television TO BE SMARTER like Michael Franti watches television to be smart. And as we learned on the title track, Franti doesn't have a massive audience because he makes socially conscious music and everyone is a hypocrite because not everyone bought his album of very socially conscious and INTELLIGENT rap music. The music is fine, but this whole project is like attending a lecture from the world's most smug professor.

The story and context behind this album is what lifts it up. I love getting to listen to something that is a time capsule. Especially when the messages spoken are still relevant decades later. That being said, I found the music to be a little boring. There were a couple of instances where I was taken out of the album because of an awkward flow or a too-wordy verse. I like what this album was trying to do, but I would not listen to this again.

Breeding Ignorance And Feeding Radiation 1001 Albums Generator 331 (8/19/2026) Although I've never heard of this album, I have listened to Michael Franti's previous group, The Beatnigs, and it was much more interesting than this. While that album was industrial, punk, jazz, rock, and hiphop mixed together, Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury is definitely more streamlined. Some people may think that's a good thing, but I think that this album just doesn't have enough going on. Some of the lyrics are so cringe (we live in a society, man, have you noticed?), but some of them are alright (Television The Drug Of The Nation). Also, even the songs I enjoy are way too long. There's not enough meat in these beats for 5, 6, 7 minutes of monotone rapping. Also, his flow is really awkward at points. I think I prefer frantic Michael Franti over this; if you're in the mood for some real weird, forward-thinking stuff, check out The Beatnigs. 1.5/5, rounded up to 2. Favs: Famous And Dandy Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury Everyday Life Has Become A Health Risk Least Fav: INS Greencard A-19 191 500

Liked the old-school sound, 3.25/5

It was interesting that so many of the political statements in this are still very relevant now. The three is mainly for the absolute dedication to highlight injustices. Musically, it was okay but, after a reasonably strong start, it got repetitive.

Sounds ominously prescient compared to modern day politics and society. Enjoyable enough but the public enemy style delivery isn’t quite to my liking and the messaging was often just a little too on the nose. A bit of cleverer wordplay or metaphor might have helped. Enjoyable enough though and one whose lyrics might be worth reading as it was quite dense to parse otherwise.

𝘏𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘺 𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘓𝘶𝘹𝘶𝘳𝘺 is more interesting for what it has to say than for how it sounds. Musically, it is not one of the strongest hip-hop records of the early 1990s, although its dense, confrontational production occasionally brings Public Enemy to mind. Michael Franti has a powerful, commanding voice, but over a full album his delivery can become a little too monotonous. What holds my attention more is the subject matter. The record is deeply political and very much rooted in 1992, yet some of its criticism has aged remarkably well. Its focus on television as a force shaping public opinion may sound tied to its era, but replace television with social media, algorithms, and online platforms, and much of the argument still feels relevant today. I respect the album’s intelligence and ambition, but I find its ideas more memorable than the music itself.

Today was my official introduction to The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, and I immediately loved it. Take spoken word flow, similar to Chuck D, and then add it to experimental hip hop beats. The end result is a truly unique time capsule of what was affecting the lives of the normal people. The production is absolutely flawless, making it almost impossible to be a release from 1992. I will be spinning this frequently going forward.

Nice one.

7/10 My favourite hip-hop album do far. Probably not something I'd listen to a lot, but when you rap about stuff that matters and not the terrible mysiogny of mist of the genre's garbage I've been served up on this journey, it can be an interesting and enjoyable experience. Gets a bonus point

American hip hop style music. Not really aimed at my style but it wasn’t bad. Average 5/10

Maso

Wow is this ham handed. It's socially conscious rap, from the era when gangsta rap made everyone think the genre was just sex and violence, but my word does he ever lean into it - but that's not necessarily a bad thing, sometimes you need to be direct to get your point across. At times heavy, sometimes dated but at others eerily prescient, the owner likely hits closer to home now than it did when it was released. And to be honest, a lot of the tracks are actual bangers. Just, you know, sometimes an allegory or allusion can work as well buddy

I had no idea this album existed. Way ahead of its time.

Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury.

Gil Scott-Heron vibes for sure. I’d never heard of this group, but I’m familiar with Michael Franti. I really enjoyed this one!

Chuck D wannabe.

There’s some really good 90’s rap but this stuff is just so fatiguing. I mean I don’t even think it’s the super political lyricism, that’s fine. Idk, the slam poetry ass delivery combined with the wonky beats just makes no sense given the lyrics. I had a similar issue with one of the Janet records on here. Also, this isn’t to say the slam poetry delivery can’t work. I don’t know the artists name off the top of my head, but this feels similar to some other music of its time that actually works. I think this just goes on too long and is too obnoxious for its own good.

Undergound hip hop is cool but this is just cool but not as cool as other stuff to me.

not my thing

Only 9 of the 13 tracks available.

I believe this guy has heard public enemy and Gill Scott heron. The beats are nice and funky and bouncy. I learned a few things from the lyrics. Some of the lyrics felt nicely politically apt and chimed well with me. I didn't have such a great time listening though. It did feel pretty on the nose from those references and felt maybe a little long and samey. Great listen though.

I bought this when it came out and I've loved it ever since.

Okay, I know it was ME who asked to stop with all the 80's crap, but now just doing 90's hip-hop for the third time in four days... it doesn't benefit this album. I just feel it's more of the same. Yes, the samples are cool, I like the jazz fused in everywhere. And the lyrics are great, I do really enjoy politically important music, something with a real message and is almost poetic, but when you layer it over a bunch of sounds that sadly don't really provoke much rythm or emotion, you kinda end up with just... noise.

Listens: 2 Standout tracks: Satanic Reverses, Television The Drug of The Nation This album was both amusing and sometimes genuinely powerful. At face value, the societal... challenges being discussed across the songs: apathy, fundamentalism, addiction, standards, hypocrisy, money, social placement, etc. are all valid criticisms and expressing them through music is a time honored tradition. It's also monotonous, in-your-face, and unrelenting music insofar as literally every single song is about the plight of black people and to a lesser extent, other minorities (in the United States, in 1992). There's no time to rest, to reflect on the music you heard before you're swept away to the next atrocity or abhorrent societal behavior or problem. The song Television Drug of the Nation is dated in 2026 (although still decently relevant), but if you substitute "Television" for "Social Media", suddenly the song becomes hyper-prescient. Some of the predictions on Satanic Reverses has definitely come to pass, what with the rise in Christian fundamentalism in the US, but others sort of fall flat on their face. Because literally the entire album is non-stop social commentary, its tough to take the album seriously. Maybe that's disingenuous of me. It's also really weird that on YTM music, four tracks are unavailable (censoring?), including the titular "Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury". I was able to find the four missing tracks (and in fact the entire album) on YouTube proper, but that's annoying. Overall, a good two listens, but it got both exceptionally depressing to listen to, and the monotone nature of the artist couldn't keep me engaged beyond my practically-mandatory two listens.

i like this type of music, but a whole album of it is too much for me, i like 1 or 2 songs

A proper protest album. 30 years old, change a couple of names & places and it could have been written last week!

Não sou fã do gênero, mas curti a parte musical. As letras achei repetitivas, monotemáticas. No geral, músicas longas demais, tornando o disco maior do que o necessário. Acho que há outros do gênero melhores e mais relevantes.

Wat een gouden HIPHOP plaat! Lekker sampelen, rap met echte teksten die werkelijk ergens over gaan en anti zijn! Deze was genieten! Interessant hoe relevant het lied Television the drug of our nation nog is! Ook wel ergens een trieste gewaarwording…

Het gaat mij er niet eens om of ik het er mee eens ben of niet, maar ik vind het vervelend hoe de mening van deze betweters word gebracht. De teksten klinken als een opiniestuk in de krant niet als muziek. Ik hoef geen statistieken in mijn muziek. Het voelt allemaal als een mening die de artiest op probeert te leggen. Als je iemand van mening wilt laten veranderen met muziek doe het dan met een verhaal. Met een verhalende tekst krijgt de luisteraar meer het gevoel dat ze zelf een mening hebben gevormd dan dat ze word verteld wat ze moeten vinden. Ik hou heel erg van hip hop en die mag van mij prima maatschappijkritischzijn maar in dit album mis ik wel plezier en plezier mag van mij niet ontbreken in hip hop. Het is allemaal zo serieus. Los van de teksten vind ik dat de beats zwak zijn en de flow ook zwak.

Sympathieke poging maar niet echt heel goed. De boodschap is te recht toe recht aan. Er zit niks origineels in, een twist, humor of twijfel met voor de hand liggende metaforen. De boodschap is niet perse slecht maar te toedracht wel. We weten het nu wel.... het gaat irriteren. Daarbij is zijn rap techniek ook niet van het allerhoogste niveau. In de muziek zitten zelf nog wel wel leuke elementen van punk en jazz maar daar houd het een beetje voor mij op.

Ik hoef je niet lastig te vallen met maatschappelijke rap uit de jaren 90, het is zo corny. We krijgen geschiedenisles waarbij allerlei jaartallen worden genoemd en we worden gewaarschuwd en verteld hoe slecht de televisie wel niet is. Oké, misstanden en racisme zijn zeker onderwerpen om muziek over te maken en ik kan het waarderen wanneer het goed wordt gedaan (zoals eerder bij Solange bijvoorbeeld). Maar de manier waarop wordt gerapt is simpelweg niet om aan te horen. Het klinkt als een predikant.

Mediocre. Everything is the same. The message is fine and still relevant but every song.

The book "We amuse ourselves to death" is basically the message, no? I didn't find the beats compelling. Too straight forward. Not enough variances. If you only have a message and no music then a book is definitely the better media to convey the message.

This felt like a Chuck D solo record, which it is not. But super political early 90s hip hop checks a lot of my boxes.

Interesting and intelligent.

"cathode ray nipple" is insane

Parece que alguns álbuns estão nessa lista apenas pra mostrar ecletismo. E isso não tem nada a ver com o estilo (ouvi ãlbuns de hip hop MARAVILHOSOS aqui), mas tem umas coisas que eu realmente não entendo.

It's all true, all of it.

Pretty good if overlong

This was good

3.5

Surprisingly okay to play in the background

Love me some conscious rap! The beats and music were awesome.

Rap and hip hop are not my cup of tea at all so a 3 star rating from me is actually a compliment.

Repetitive beats throughout and the lyrics were a little too heavy handed. Too on the nose

This was ok - a little dated. However, the guitar playing on "Music and Politics" blew me away - amazing! That alone almost got the whole album a 4 star but the sheer repetitiveness of a number of songs brought it down. Some of those 6+ minute songs really should be a 3-4 minute higher song.

i listened to a bit but it was a clear meaning unlike many rap albums and i think though sound wise it was maybe a 2.5-3/5 but i just really liked how he got his point across so i give it a 3.5/5 round up 4

Redeeming qualities but too bored with it to continue after 6 songs

Might be the low expectations from reading the group ratings, but didn't hate that.

Wishy

A group I'd never heard of, and an album I was pleasantly surprised by. Jazz and funk samples meet industrial noise and synth-work to back lyrics charged by the social and political state of the 90s. I enjoy hip-hop where the songwriting has a message, and that is something that this album excels at. And I noticed a lot of the industrial elements serve to unsettle the listener, set them off-balance as they're listening to the lyrics. The only real weakness to me was the hook just being the song title. That got old real quick. I can see myself getting a physical copy of this album.

Mannn. I’m down with the message and occasionally with the beats, but it’s a dry repetitive and dated album. He’s not very skilled as a rapper or as a lyricist either. Finding out he’s the say hey how you doing today guy was the shock of the week.

Ooh boy, that was awful.

Well politicaly its pretty smart especially for the time. Or really dumb depending on your own leanings. But I fall under its conscience and just flat out right. I get very public enemy but less angry vibes here. Alot of similarities in the stylings and the raps feel the most similar. I think the beats are decent. Nothing too special. The flows are a bit one note. I will bring up the track with guitar and singing as an outlier. Neat mix up. But the main thing is the political messaging. And thats a love or hate type thing. Im into it but someone with more conservative leaning would toss woke out in a nanosecond. So this will always be a controversial album. I liked it though. Its smart and just good enough musically to get a good score from me.

Haven't heard of them but the album cover sure is something. The lyrics talk about some interesting things. But ultimately the flow becomes tiring after a while and the rhymes a bit cheesy. Too bad 2/5

Cool find! Michael Franti before Spearhead. Social Justice infused spoken-word raps over hip-hop beats.

Wow, ridiculously still relevant now, words hit hard, really enjoyed the change of pace with this one.

One of the most punk rock hip hop artists. Televiison the Drug of the Nation is iconic. Has some cool funky heaviness to it and a strong not subtle set of messages. Gets a little personal here and there, overall really good consccious hip hop without much positivity.

J’ai beaucoup aimé, assez spé mais entraînant. Inspirations trip hop sympathique

Just because a CD can hold an hour of music, doesn’t mean it should. Cut this down to a good 40 minutes and it’d be much better and less repetitive

The first song had big Public Enemy('s hits) energy, and I liked it! The rest of the album was not great.

I like the idea of this more than I liked listening to it. It lacks any real wit or subtlety in its lyrics or production. Didn't really take any highlights away from it though it was generally fine and listenable. It was also just a few tracks too damn long, but that's standard for the genre and era combination.

I like that rhymed testicles with necklaces. I liked that they gave me some things that I then had to fact check (Panama Canal - nice bit of trivia). I also appreciated the political and current events scope of the early 1990s. But, I wasn't a fan of the rapping. It sounded like when voice actors of cartoon shows rap in an episode. Enter the guy who is on everything, Phil Lamar (though he was an awesome Green Lantern in the 2000s cartoon Justice League!). There was another one where the guy just repeated the same line, kinda sung, and I was vaguely impressed until it kept repeating. 2 stars.

This album is like when your third form social studies teacher turns his chair around to sit on it backwards so he can “get real with you about the world”

Had its moments but the talking over beats got a bit stale after awhile. Interesting concept though and the issues hold up many years later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwmw3TYOOdk

das Gute zuerst: super Stimme. Ansonsten schwache Beats, pseudointellektuelle Texte, und zu lang.

Ihr kennt meine Meinung zu 90s HipHop

Wow, Michael Franti sure has mellowed with age. This is pretty tendentious, but I wish he'd kept a little more of his edge. (I vaguely remember the existence of the Beatnigs from San Francisco in the late 80s but I'm sure I never heard them.)

Protest album! It's amazing how much of this is still relevant. This is more spoken word poetry than hip hop.

I appreciated that he actually talked about something. It is a bit too long of an album though.

It was good. The theme wasn’t bad or good

Pretty solid. Thought the lyrics were pretty solid, political but not preachy. Half of it wasn’t on Apple Music and I couldn’t be bothered to find the other half. Wish all hip hop albums were this short, they should just take what they want to release and cut it in half.

Lyrics have strong point of view-lot of social/political commentary. Appreciated that he staying in that lane & did not fall into the womanizing/name calling of many other hip hop/rap artists

look, ok, i get it. I like conscious hip-hop, but this is the most mid shit I've heard for a while

Political AF. Public Enemy mixed with like uhhhh Industrial jazz or something. It's alright, definitely unique, a little dry for me and every song is llllooooonnnngggg. Sounds like a slam poetry session but they can't kick the guy off stage cause he'll stab you. Props for a California Uber Alles cover though. Jumping between Spotify and YouTube to listen to this in full never helps the score, is what it is.

Era defining hip-hop.

Я колись давно слухав цей альбом. Був в якомусь списку альбомів, які незаслужено забуті чи щось таке. Я вже погано пам'ятаю свої враження, окрім того, що мені він не дуже сподобався. Цього разу слухав уважно, звертав увагу на тексти. Що відразу треба сказати, що продакшн на альбомі можна умовно поділити на дві частини: 1) закос під Bomb Squad тіки з меншою кількістю семплів та живими інструментами та 2) якісь тріп-хоп/індастріал вайби. Що ще більш цікаве, що там де продакшн під Bomb Squad голос, флоу та навіть ритмічні патерни з наголосами дуже сильно нагадують Чака Ді, але у останнього голос потужніший. В треках з іншими бітами подача змінюється і я не можу сказати, що вона якась яскрава. Основа тут звичайно тексти за все хороше проти всього поганого. Місцями заходить на територію вже прям проповідництва, але мені на диво це взагалі не заважало. Трохи сумно, що тексти глобально залишаються актуальними й на зараз. На відміну від того ж Чака Ді тематика ширша за блек страгл та емпавермент. Хоч і досить очевидні речі проскакують, але не скатується в якусь банальність. Це був скоріше позитивний досвід, але не уявляю, що я ще раз включу цей альбом.

Взагалі не шарив цей проект. Флоу нагадало Чака Ді (але гірше звісно) і чесно кажучи десь на половині альбоми здалось що це нудно і дуже preachy, але якось я втягнувся і в цілому скажу що Hypocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury мені сподобався. 3.5

While I appreciate the different style and its unique sound I don’t feel the need to listen again. 3 because of it being different.

This was so potent it felt like he was sent back to 1992 from 2026. Hip hop at its finest!

This intrigued me at first. And then I realised who was behind this. And it's Michael Franti. There is something I didn't like about him, and digging a bit deeper, and checking out his other musical ventures. I just think he's a bit annoying. And also he groomed a woman. Didn't get much further than about 6 songs. Will listen to some other new music now. Thanks Mike!

Meh, un catálogo que se adjunta a su tiempo y es crítico con ello, además de ser demasiado repetitivo y con estilos muy poco llamativos. ¿1 hora de esto? Preferiría otro álbum.

Sadly serval of the songs are not available on YT music. That said, I all but forgot this album existed. (And of course it reminded me of Consolidated.) Anyway, it's refreshing to hear some old school rap/hip-hop that isn't about getting high, slapping bitches, and waving a gat.

Honestly a lot of interesting views he brings up about societal issues. A lot of things I imagine were unpopular at the time in the music industry. But at some point for me the music needs to be on par with the message and I can’t see myself listening to this for anything besides the political messaging. It’s not bad music by any means just missing some oomph

This was probably more impactful in its day. Now it just sounds repetitive.

Great album. Love the sampling and the vocal delivery. Engaging lyrics. Really landed with me. The four tracks not on YouTube music are good too.

Lyrics are 100% accurate and 0% nuance.

Kind of depressing how timely it still is. Pretty good, just not my type of listening.

Trying to say a lot while meaning very little

Mér fannst þetta aftur á móti bæði nokkuð töff og skemmtilegt.

beats are diabolical here. lyrics alternate between ingenious, overwrought, and repetitive, but definitely in a good place content wise, and their performance is quite good. the songwriting does tend to drag a bit though

This is #day692 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… industrial/conscious hip-hop from the early '90s, you're saying, aka when hip-hop was golden. Well, bring it on! This is a strong 3 out of 5. Looking forward to #day693.

Political lyrics with some good '90s beats, enjoyable. Turns out we're still dealing with the same bullshit 30 years later

Intelligent political hip hop rap. For what it’s worth a decent listen, but not something I see myself going back to. 2.5 stars

Meh +

C’est bien et c’est très clairvoyant sur le monde d'aujourd'hui. C’est aussi long et souvent répétitif. Playlist pick : Satanic Reverses

Boring.

The messages throughout the album are spot on. The music element I felt was lacking however. There’s occasionally a good beat or rhythm going, but the lyrics were the clear star on this one. I’d never heard of this group before, but I really enjoy this kind of conscientious style of rap/hip-hop. It’s thought provoking and far more political than modern rap tends to get. It’s over 30 years old, the issues he’s talking about were malignant back then, and now they’ve really come to a head. Wish more people would’ve taken this more seriously.

Music and production feel a little fated the message does not

Sounds like store brand public enemy. Maybe the name Communal Nemesis wouldve worked better? Joking aside, the production value is impressive for the early 90s, and from what I know the message is bold considering the time. Would normally give 4 stars, however this isn't brit pop and it seems a number of reviewers on this site hate black people so 5 stars seems warranted

Disposable

Pretty damn cool. Big fan of this. Conscious hip-hop meets funk. Gil Scott-Heron meets Public Enemy. Another album that obviously I wouldn't want to listen to every day, but certainly one that I'm glad I know about and glad I listened to before I die. Gotta give points to an album that makes you way, way cooler than everyone else for having listened to it. Fave tracks: - Satanic Reverses - Famous And Dandy (Like Amos 'N' Andy) - Television The Drug Of The Nation - Language Of Violence - INS Greencard A-19 191 500 (side note: Jesus, this almost made me sick to listen to. This album came out in fucking 1992. Could have come out yesterday with how the Trump administration has empowered ICE and is dealing with immigration. So fucked.) - Music And Politics - Financial Leprosy

Disposable television is a Zoo

Interesante

I was left speechless by this. It was probably the album that most exceeded the expectations that I had coming up to it. While being unapologetically socially charged, it does also have catchy lyrics that are made more powerful by the rap delivery, and also organically sampled beats, containing jazz and funk influences that do stand on its own beyond the rest of the album. 9/10 [KEEP]

Less dated than I thought it would be. Turns out the the problems of 1992 haven't gone away. New names, same games.

Concious rap is very hit or miss. The message has to make enough room for good flow and beats. This record does an OK job in that regard. The beats are darky funky and have some experimental sounds. The lyrics can sometmes be a little corny such as in my opinion in "Television, the drug of the nation" but his takes are very true and relevant even today. I also appreciate the range of topics discussed in this record. The nature of hate, discrimination, Palestine, technology, political activisim in music and probably more. His takes are pretty nuanced for a record from the 90's. This is especially interesting because other records on this list from the same period or even more recent include things like casual homophobia. Will I listen to this again? Probably not, unless I am feeling especially introspective on todays problems. I do listen to concious/activist music, but it is often the more energetic/manic songs like "Hypocrisy is the greatest luxury" that I am drawn to. 7.5/10

Very much a nineties hip-hop album, but a great one. Strongly critical of society and politicis at the time, yet at times it felt very much talking about current times. It very much doesn't feel afraid to criticize also the standard black culture of the time.

I didn't really disagree with the things he was saying per se, but god, I would hate getting stuck talking to this guy at a party.

Look, good message, but there are better albums from the time to lose yourself in.

Chato e repetitivo.

A while back, I listened to It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy, and this album reminded me heavily of that. I didn't like that album at first, but after revisiting it several times, I've grown to appreciate it. This album tackles similar themes with a similar vocal delivery, but it has all the subtlety of a flying mallet. Its social commentary is so on the nose that there's nothing left for the listener to unpack once it's over. Instead, I was left thinking about how unbelievably long, repetitive, and dull most of the tracks here were. Some songs are outright awful, too, particularly "Music and Politics" and the cover of "California Über Alles", which drained the life out of what is a political punk classic. Overall, this is an album so consumed by its messages that it forgets to be engaging musically. Worse still, I found the messages to be too obvious and unengaging to sustain its runtime, and by the end, I couldn't wait for it to be over.

Well they’re not subtle, that’s for sure. Beats are fine bordering on good, but every song felt, both in flow and content, like a sermon.

Especially on NBC

Est-ce que c'est du rap d'adulte ? J'ai pas pris le temps de m'asseoir pour lire les paroles, mais j'ai l'impression que c'est très sérieux et qu'on y parle d'hypothèque et des struggles d'un 9 à 5. Je vais préserver le mystère. Le groove est bon, on a des vrais instruments. Je suis pas totalement vendu à le réécouter et j'ai ma dose de hip hop pour un bout mais j'admets la qualité.

Certainly interesting to listen to, with themes that are still relevant unfortunately. Grew on me musically as I went through the album

Similar to Public Enemy but not as catchy. I prefer Franti’s later work with Spearhead. Takes me back to the early 90s

pffft

Never heard of this album but why should I when I have an acute dislike to all that is hip hop rap. I refer to my previous diatribes, of which there are now many, due to the frequency of this genre on this list. 1/5 18/6/26

>"Well, I can stand a little cold and I can stand a little dog shit, but when it comes to losing a toe from frost bite, I might have to wear the only pair of shoes I own: my Havaianna flip-flops with a pair of socks". Genuinely repulsive

In which a majority of the points about American culture from 1992 are startlingly relevant today

In my early 90s fee fees with this one. My two year old self would have had its mind blown if it heard this back then.

At times this record feels too "preachy" and it comes off more annoying than anything. The production is pretty good though. Favourite Track(s): Music and Politics Least Favourite Track(s): Television The Drug Of The Nation, INS Greencard A-19 191 500

I'm brand new to Michael Franti and The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy, but this is a great discovery. Thanks algorithm. Thalgorithm. Franti’s lyrical content is delivered like a sermon. There are no metaphors here, just a lot of very-direct takes on media manipulation, consumer passivity, racism, homophobia, police violence, environmental decay, political hypocrisy, and corporate power. Like someone giving a highly articulate speech in the park where a crowd has started to gather around. It's angry, literate, moralistic, anti-corporate, anti-racist, and suspicious of mass culture. But somehow also very easy and enjoyable to listen to. Musically it feels somewhere between Public Enemy and Gil Scott-Heron. And that's a pretty damn good place to be stuck between. The samples are great: hard beats, media fragments, industrial textures, jazz, funk, post-punk, alt-rock, and world music act as a bed for these politically-charged rants. “Famous and Dandy” samples Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man”, coincidentally yesterday's brilliant discovery. That's a cool connection, and feels too big to be just a coincidence. Thalgorithm.

Något som inte riktigt funkade för mig med t.ex låten som predikar om hur dåligt det är med TV

Inte alls bekant med sen innan, men kändes stabilt och med intressanta influenser. Kanske skulle höjas av fler lyssningar.

Vad mycket prat.

Kind of a jam?

First listen

I have nothing bad to say about the politics of this album. It's progressive and insightful, taking aim at many different sources of corruption and evil. It has aged well, and tracks like "Language of Violence" feel ahead of their time. But the album is proof that good politics don't make for good music, as I have almost nothing good to say about that. The vocals are unsteady, often feeling more like "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" spoken word than rapping. The beats are Bomb Squad-lite, with a lot going on but little that catches your ear; they're often so loose that it resembles early 90s British alternative dance. Even the lyrics aren't great. They can be clever, but often they just list problems without any kind of personal touch. They make for an album that ends up focusing on negatives without offering solutions or motivation to fix things, which is not fun to listen to.

Ахуеть аесоп рок

4/5 Favorite Song: Television the Drug of the Nation

ngl, i don't listen to much hip hop so this was my first alt hip hop album. beats were good and the subject matter was refreshing

Labai turinio pilnas tekstas, rimtos problemos sprendžiamos tikrai mhm. Įdomu paklausyt, kas ten blogo amerikoj

Holy shit. Where has this album been my whole life. This is why I signed up for this project to find forgotten gems I'd never heard of. The beats are great 90s hip hop, but the lyrics are fantastic. Political and resonant even today. Favorite track has got to be Television, but the whole album is terrific. My only complaint is that some of the tracks weren't available on Spotify and finding them was a bit of a challenge. I wish there was another album from the group because this was amazing.

No, thanks!

It's crazy how much HASN'T changed in America since this came out!

I'm not a rap guy, but I did try and listen to this. I found this to be boring and while some may like his style I didn't at all.

een rap album dat ik best te pruimen vond, de wonderen zijn de wereld nog niet uit... ligt voor een groot deel aan de boosheid die uit de teksten springt (beetje RATM's Zach De La Rocha) ipv de gebruikelijke 'mijn rechterkloot is groter dan de jouwe'

Not listen to this for ages still as good as ever

Political rap. I appreciate the sentiments but much of it comes off as a lecture. I added INS Greencard A-19 191 500" to my playlist.

I’m not generally a fan of Hip-Hop and would never pretend to know much about it. Years ago though, I had a tape, free with a music mag, on which was a live version of “Television, the Drug of the Nation” which led to a few listens of this album. I haven’t heard it for a long time. I shouldn’t have left it so long. From the off, “Satanic Reverses” is both prophetic, predicting events of the ‘90s, and eerily current, the lyrics could be talking about Trump’s America. The music is full of Amen Break drums, jazz and soul samples, Miles and Herbie Hancock, The Meters, Funkadelic, and also '80s New Wave like Depeche Mode, with funky basslines. The words are full of social commentary. “Television…” remains a highlight but the whole album is excellent. And, unfortunately, throughout the whole record the lyrics, from 1992, could be referring to 2026; “INS Greencard A-19 191500” is straight out of the ICE playbook. There is an interesting cover of The Dead Kennedys’ “California Ûber Alles” which samples The Dead Kennedys’ “California Ûber Alles”… There’s a very strong Gil-Scott Heron influence, and like Heron, the anger in the words hits harder because of the controlled manner in which they are delivered. The record really resonated with me this time and will be on more regular rotation.

01/06/2026 It was boring, not catchy enough and nothing stood out, shame. Spotify listeners: 11k

The Good: We get taught a life’s lesson. The Bad: I am not paying attention… The Ugly: Fucking politics. Back in the ‘90s, there was a lot of screaming about how bad the government/society was treating those who live in the inner-cities, or proyects, or ‘hoods’… We got bombarded by nothing but bitching and complaining, affirmative action, and down with the slave-masters. The ‘90s… it had a gulf war. I had friends who were deployed there, and none of them were black or brown… they were just trying to honor their GI bills, which was the way most tried to pay for their college education. So, excuse me if I don’t stand in line and chant along. I saw reversed discrimination via affirmative action, I saw how little effort was being made for people to adapt to others… If you behave like you come from the hood, good luck getting into a frat party. If you listen to hip-hop because the color of your skin, and hate rock for the same reasons… well, good for you. Morgan Freeman said it best “want to end racism, stop talking about it” Also, oddly enough, I did not hear this music back in the ‘90s, and I was at a very fucking liberal university… 1* for wasting my time. Please keep walking, nothing to see here...

Well-written lyrics on relevant topics, too bad the beats are lousy.

Favourite Songs: Language Of Violence Water Pistol Man

Shit. Never heard before. My bad, it’s great! I’ve got some ear bingeing in my near future! For those scoring 1, crawl your uneducated ass back under that swamp Rock with Kid! Yeah, I’m in a pissed off mood…

Sounds like the love child of Public Enemy and Gil Scott Heron. Vastly underrated.

This trip down Obscure Street continues, what a painful few weeks it's been. Instantly made me think of Public Enemy. Musically it's shit, boring old school scratching and weak beats, it's all about the dialogue and eye opening lyrics (if that's your thing, it ain't mine). I am just not into diatribe spoken lyrics about politics, there's obviously an audience out there for this though. I lost interest early. Reading up on them I see Michael Franti is half the duo, and that they opened for PE, Nirvana and U2 that year. Topics covered... Drug of the Nation, Violence, Health Risk, Greencards, Socio-Genetic Experiments, Politics, Finance... I didn't know any 20 yr old who would have wanted to listen to this when it came out. I can't imagine spending an hour listening to this entire album FOR FUN. It's not fun, not even a little, it's the opposite. 2 stars.

Politically I’m with it.

oooooh. does not age well.

nothing here.

public enemy... light? that's not quite fair, but it doesn't hit as hard. enjoyable but doesn't stand out enough.

Socially conscious rap for people who find white bread too spicy.

Das einzige Studioalbum der US-amerikanischen Formation aus San Francisco vereint Industrial, Spoken-Word-Dichte und Hip-Hop zu einem Werk von bemerkenswerter Konsequenz. Aufgenommen in den Razor's Edge- und Komotion-Studios in San Francisco und erschienen auf 4th & B'way, einem Sublabel von Island Records, verbindet das Duo Michael Franti und Rono Tse – unterstützt von Produzent und Programmierer Mark Pistel – chaotische Sample-Collagen im Stile der Bomb Squad mit der kühlen Maschinenhärte des Industrial. Franti, der zuvor mit den Beatnigs im Umfeld des Punk-Labels Alternative Tentacles aktiv war, übertrug jene Politisierung in ein breiteres Hip-Hop-Format. Die Texte kreisen um Medienmacht („Television, the Drug of the Nation"), strukturellen Rassismus („Socio-Genetic Experiment"), Homophobie („Language of Violence") und den Golf-Krieg – thematisch verdichtet, im Ton eher nachdenklich-anklagend als agitatorisch. Die Übernahme von Jello Biafras „California Über Alles" markiert dabei weniger eine stilistische Referenz als eine ideologische Kontinuität zur Punk-Linken. Klanglich bewegt sich das Album in einem Niemandsland, das 1992 kaum besetzt war: zu kantig für den Mainstream-Rap, zu rhythmusorientiert für den Industrial-Rock, zu konsistent politisch für die Nische des Alternative Hip-Hop. Eben diese Uneinordenbarkeit ist seine Stärke – und erklärt, warum das Werk trotz kritischer Anerkennung kommerziell folgenlos blieb. Ein Album, das seiner Zeit voraus war und dessen Unbequemlichkeit nichts von ihrer Dringlichkeit verloren hat.

Rap consciente, mas digo, bem consciente mesmo. Não do tipo woke, na verdade, há um gostinho de teoria da conspiração em algumas das faixas e algumas das letras. Parece uma crítica, mas não é, pois eu achei fascinante esse álbum. Realmente foge de todas as expectativas e clichês. Claro que nem tudo aqui envelheceu tão bem assim, há várias referências e críticas que já estão bem datadas, mas isso não diminui o valor do disco na minha visão. As batidas mantêm o interesse também. Muitos samples interessantes, gosto especialmente dos trechos de notícias utilizados. É um produto de seu tempo, mas de forma positiva, como uma cápsula do tempo. E as rimas são até que inteligentes, por mais que algumas vezes aquele aspecto esnobe ou pretensioso possa ser irritante. O maior defeito é, como de costume, a duração exagerada do álbum. Uma hora é demais até para os melhores discos, mas para um disco inconsistente como esse fica ainda mais injustificável. Provavelmente nunca mais vou ouvir esse álbum novamente, mas gostei da experiência. Sinto que vou estranhar essa nota no futuro, quando revisar os álbuns da lista, mas por ora, me parece a nota correta para representar meu aproveitamento. 4/5

Not really my style but others I’m Sure ;)

Predictions way off jajaja

Great Songs: Famous and Dandy (Like Amos and Andy), Television, the Drug of the Nation, Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury Good Songs: Satanic Reverses, Language of Violence (Mix), The Winter of the Long Hot Summer, Everyday Life Has Become a Health Risk, INS Greencard A-19 195 500, Socio-Genetic Experiment, Music and Politics, Financial Leprosy, California Über Alles Mid Songs: Water Pistol Man Bad Songs:

I wanted to kick back and relax. Now I want to join a protest and get angry.

Conspiracy theory rapper. Closer to spoken word with music than music itself. Decent enough.

This was a miss for me. Quite boring and nothing to really catch my attention.

Fine but not my thing

This was alright 2.5

I like this a lot. It’s a pleasure to be happily surprised.

There are 4 songs unavailable on Spotify... and I didn't like it enough to hunt those down. Decent messaging in the songs, especially for the time it was made, but it's just not for me

7.5/10 rounded up because of lyrical content

Easily engrossing, backed up by these eerie but very '90s dystopian beats that make every lyric really feel like the fall of society He feels pretty genuine, too

Television the drug of the nation… just the beginning of the end

Very dated rap style, content is strong, but a hard listen

This album is basically slam poetry and I hate slam poetry. He was talkin that shit, though! Did not tell not one lie!! Time is a flat circle. So I gotta give him respect for that alone. Highlights: Music and Politics

- Hard yes to socially conscious music, hard no to sexual predators and narcissists... talk about Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury. "As multiple women come forward with allegations of misconduct against Bay Area musician Michael Franti, one of his earliest collaborators says he is not surprised. Rono Tse, who co-founded the politically charged hip-hop duo Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy with Franti in the early 1990s, claims Franti cut him out of ownership rights to their work when the group signed with Island Records, and alienated fellow bandmates even as he preached about community and social justice." This list continues to disappoint, just crawling with predators. Yet another group to boycott. - Great voice. I also enjoyed the social commentary of the lyrics/themes, though I didn't find the lyrics super musical (other than when they had that fun punchy rhythmic feel and on Music and Politics because it more jazzy & the title and final tracks). The beat was fine, I guess, not super memorable and definitely doesn't feel fresh today. - The songs are pretty wordy, and in those areas, the flow really suffers - e.g., especially in Famous and Dandy. I also started getting kind of bored after a few songs - the music wasn't interesting enough, and I think the lyrics would probably be better in an article than music, though I appreciate them for having a message. - I think Satanic Reverses was my favourite of the tracks - everything worked together well, and the flow and beat were great. The rest didn't really live up to that one, unfortunately. - The instrumentation is also felt a little too packed most of the time - I could use more breathing space and melody, throughout. - I definitely found the songs and album too long.

Hated it. Is it rap? Is it spoken word? Is it West Coast psychadelia? So confused. The standout moment though, was the lyric "TV is the place where the pursuit of happiness has become the pursuit of trivia, where toothpaste and cars have become sex objects, where imagination is sucked out of children by a cathode ray nipple - TV is the only wet nurse that would create a cripple". 2 stars.

I only own one hip-hop album: Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury by The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. When it was released in 1992, the single 'Television, the Drug of the Nation' was played frequently on MTV. Michael Franti’s razor-sharp lyrics were a breath of fresh air in nineties pop music. Added to this were Rono Tse’s remarkably powerful beats and groovy bass lines. Finally, danceable pop music with political lyrics had returned. Above all, the whole album thrives on Franti’s intelligent, unsparing and alarmingly topical lyrics, which break away from the hip-hop mould. Sadly, the band only released two albums, the second of which, Spare Ass Annie and Other Tales, set texts by William S. Burroughs to music. However, it was clear from the outset that the narrow musical framework of hip-hop was too restrictive for Michael Franti. Tracks like 'Music and Politics' break completely away from the hip-hop sound, drawing closer to the jazz and soul of Isaac Hayes — not least thanks to the fantastic guitar work of jazz musician Charlie Hunter, who was making his debut at the time. In a sense, this album anticipates the music of spoken-word performers like Kate Tempest.

Yeah

Peak "we've got Public Enemy at home" energy. Please dispose of ♻️responsibly♻️

We already have Public Enemy at home. Even though the flow got very repetitive and it sounded way too much like a Public Enemy clone, I enjoyed it well enough. Would say 3.5 but rounded down for length

Maybe the only album to ever name-drop Pell grants.

Incisive political takes and heavy sound collage beats, but really not all that enjoyable or compelling.

On paper, this seems to be too on the nose as political music. Maybe it was, for its time. But today it’s pretty perfect and so prescient. The level of commitment to the ethos is unbelievable, and the music also works as music, not just politics.

Not going to revisit this one, but it wasn’t the worst rap album I’ve gotten. Can we talk about the album art though? Hilarious. Man with chainsaw cutting the gun barrel of a tank while a blimp with different currency symbols flies overhead. So much meaning.

Ok but, not my taste

I really liked this to a very surprising degree. For one thing, it felt like a proper history lesson and very considered. The themes are really deep and have probably therefore aged well in a way that something like NWA didn't at all. It didn't even feel super long, considering it was well over an hour. It's not perfect, and it's not the kind of genre I'm going to give top marks to, but it's really pretty good indeed.

Good

alltså politisk hip-hop är banger

Liked this. Had never heard it or of them before. Good sounds

Kind of felt like a Public Enemy ripoff

To the people that don't agree or didn't understand the albums messaging: This guy is singing the same shit we're still dealing with, only he did it near 35 years ago. If we're still complaining about this stuff, it might be valid to complain about. To the people that DO agree with the album, including myself: Do we seriously think hippies like this are actually gonna convince right wing neocon populist lovers to look at things from our side? I'm not saying this shouldn't be taken seriously but at this point we can't expect media literacy from those people, they should be made fun of, called chuds, and whatever else they have already done. If they go low, we shouldn't go high, we should kick them in the teeth. Anyway, that's my soapbox over, I just felt like this album warranted it. As I stated in that preamble rant, the ideas here are still poignant three and a half decades later, the sampling and instrumentation is great (especially the basslines), and Michael Franti's reverberating voice is very attention grabbing. It's gonna be divisive probably due to the politics attached, but I happen to agree with these politics for the most part, if not the way they're presented to the masses. I'm also not likely to be revisiting this one apart from a few tracks here and there since the politics are front and center here and not something I'd listen to in leisure time.

Boring flows about topics that don't matter to me.

I've always liked Television The Drug of the Nation and like the rest of this album it still sounds pretty prescient today. However, over the course of an hour, it does become a bit heavy handed and you yearn for just a slither of light relief from the political hectoring, so ultimately I'm going for a 3.

Muuuuy politico/social. Estuvo bueno, pero no lo volvería a escuchar. La esencia es una crítica directa en EEUU en los 90s. Television, the drug of the nation es su canción más famosa, que podría tranquilamente insertarse con la actualidad (es decir, sigue siendo una crítica actual).

One of the stronger hip‑hop albums I’ve reached so far. Its sharp political bite and spoken‑word looseness give it a real sense of urgency, and Michael Franti’s voice carries genuine conviction rather than empty sloganeering. When it hits, it really hits — angry, smart, and unapologetically confrontational. That said, it overstays its welcome. The message is hammered home so relentlessly that the later tracks start to blur together, and what initially feels powerful eventually becomes repetitive. Trimmed down, it could’ve been exceptional; as it stands, it’s very good, just too long for its own good.

1001 albums to hear before you hate the tv and governments 91# the beats go krayyy, it's a bit a sentiment of the time but it's also really inventive with the synths that remind me of George Clanton. The lyrics are really straightforward telling stories and criticizing society in a way i find enjoyable, without needing a deep listen to understand it all.

Well... this was fine. I appreciated the music and the messaging (which sadly is more relevant/worse today than it was over 30 years ago) but the lyrics bordered on cheesy.

Interesting mix of 90s hip-hop elements with complex lyricism and strong messaging. The songs were intelligent but it sometimes felt like the complexity of the words got in the way of the song being catchy. Overall- a decent album. 3.5/5.

My goodness me...a hip hop album I've liked. He has a lot to say, and it's interesting, political, clever and amusing and I can hear it clearly. And it's got a kickin beat. Still hate inter-track skits though.

Excellent lyrics

Very good and interesting conscious rap. Lyrics make you want to loom into the history of communities.

I wanted to like this, it tickles some of the same itches as Public Enemy, but just doesn't have the force. The lyrics are sometimes more concerned with making a point than with musicality, and that's to the detriment of the record. Spearhead was a better expression of righteous anger.

3.5

Great vocals, great beats, lots to say and just sounds great.

"Television the drug of the nation" is a song that is still very real in its ideas and lyrics today. I appreciated that. The lyrics were cool, i think I should listen to it again if i want to appreciate it more

Television, the drug of the nation, was quite impactful back in the day. Still relevant I suppose. The rest of it didn't grab me.

I really enjoyed this one, reminded me of Public Enemy but that’s never a bad thing.

Idk man I couldnt even try, im tossing this one in.

Jazz rap's response to Public Enemy. Is this the worst great band name of all time, or the best terrible band name of all time? The lyrics are good, and beats alright, but I don't feel like Michael Franti really gets himself out of the hole that his repetitive, dated, monotone flow puts him in

Over 30 years old and still insanely relevant. Almost every single bar still applies today in some political context.

I have loved this album ever since it came out, listened to it in full many a time. It has a rich and attractive sonic palette (pop appeal and also plenty of jazz feels, heaps of oomph in the rhythm department), great breadth of really serious themes, and really good lyrics (intelligent, sometimes very direct but often quite poetic and witty), that are very well voiced (clear articulation, strong punch, emotional but also cool, never at odds with what the lyrics can sensibly carry). Came across a Franti quote comparing Disposable Heroes with Spearhead: "The big problem with Disposable Heroes was that it was a record people listened to because it was good for them - kind of like broccoli". Personally I was always attracted to this album by the music, but at the same time felt relieved and excited that the lyrics were actually meaningful (in fine ways) about serious things, not shallow like lyrics of so much other music. (I could write a mini-essay about my relationship with broccoli but probably not here and now :-) Stand-out songs for me: Language of Violence, The Winter of the Long Hot Summer, Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury, Music And Politics, Water Pistol Man. Overall rating: it's Incredibly Wonderful, 10/10.

Really well constructed and performed. A great album to listen to once, but likely only once.

I've never heard of this. Weirdly, it is the only album these "Disposable Heroes" ever made. Four of the tracks were not available on Spotify in the United States, so I had to find them on Youtube. Sadly, the album is not very good. The raps are very politically conscious, but they are too literal. It feels artless, almost, with weak flows and basic beats behind them. This is a completely disposable album from the 90s era of politically conscious hip hop. The lyrics have all the subtlety of the album cover, and this is a damning flaw in a genre that relies almost exclusively on lyrical content. I don't think this is even remotely close to list-worthy. It is also the worst rap album I've had(at least Ready to Die had good flows!)

This was fine but not something that I'd listen to again

Wait, this is the same guy who sang "The Sound of Sunshine"? Album is a bit didactic but has substance.

Smart, well done.

Four songs from the album were missing on Apple Music, but I think I got the gist of it.

Found this quote on Wikipedia: "The big problem with Disposable Heroes was that it was a record people listened to because it was good for them - kind of like broccoli." and I do tend to agree. The album is quite dense, and full of ideas on top of mostly moody beats. I was still glad to have heard this.

#343/1001. Political hip hop, or perhaps better to call it spoken word / poetry, Gil-Scott Heron brought to the 90s. The bomb squad style production and the turntablism and the rhythm section keeps a tight beat, but the album gets a bit long. I think the frontman Michael Franti's idea: tDHoH is good for you like broccoli hits the nail in the coffin, the idea behind perhaps is that either people who listen to this already think the same way, or the lyrics seem "too political". Anyhow a lot of the lyrics are fun, some very personal, like the bits about growing up in a white culture with a mixed background. Btw his foster parents had Finnish roots according to wikipedia, so greetings from Finland!

Great message, but entirely too long and not that interesting musically. 2.0/5.0: Disappointing

way too long but i did like the lyrics

I enjoyed this much more than I expected to. Lyrically interesting.

One of those socio-political rap albums that's too smart for its own good. The lyrical themes are interesting and bring up some good points but the production is rough. The beats are forgettable, the hooks are too repetitive, and the sound balancing is not great.

Nothing super catchy.

Makes a lot of sense that they were a punk band in a previous life

Album is still applicable to today’s society, I completely agree with the overall theme and message of the album. With that said, I didn’t care that much for the musical nature of the album, a decent album with a powerful message

While I didn’t dislike the voice itself, the overall sound felt too uniform for me, which made it hard to maintain interest. It may be more rewarding for listeners who focus on the lyrical content, but it wasn’t something that fully resonated with me.

What a miserable experience of an album. The constant lectures and immovable points of view suck every drop of art out of this album.

I thought I hadn’t heard this before, but listening through I’m realizing I heard this way back in 8th or 9th grade when a friend played me some tapes of good recent rap since the only thing on the radio then was MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice. It was mostly Public Enemy he played me but also this album, which sounds very much like Public Enemy down to his voice sounding a lot like Chuck D. Of course now I notice the difference in their flow and rhymes but it’s easy to confuse them for someone who didn’t listen to a lot of rap. I had to check to make sure the bomb squad didn’t make the beats. Anyway this is great, nearly everything he’s talking about is still relevant today and even more pressing than when it came out, other than TV the Drug of the Nation which is pretty dated and has some corny lyrics, although this can extend to any mass media and the lyrics probably weren’t well worn tropes back in the early 90s. 4 tracks aren’t on Apple Music or Spotify (including the title track) so I had to track them down on youtube and relisten with everything in order, and it really elevates the album enough to excuse the corniness of those lyrics.

I haven’t listened to the full album, but the sound and lyrics were great. typical 90s rap, not really my style

I'm a big fan of 90s hip hop. But this was f***ing boring.

★★★½

Very much not for me.

Better than I remember but still can feel one note-y.

This was ok, I’d not heard of the artist before

It's not so much that I loved the music as that this record seemed amazing prophetic. I kept checking to make sure it was from 34 years ago and not this year.

The record started of strong, but then it got repetitive and boring.

This blew me away from the very first track. It’s this kind of hip-hop, rap, or whatever you want to call it, that grabs me right from the first listen. Music with a message you just can’t ignore. After listening to it, I went to read some reviews - I have to agree with the 5-star ratings. So, I’m giving it a 5 ;-)

Prescient.

If this album was any more heavy-handed with its messaging, it would come with solid steel gloves. Look, I like socially-conscious music as much as the next person, but just talk-rapping over low-key beats about how TV, violence, littering, etc. is bad just doesn’t cut it. The message has to be entertaining and in your face, in the style of Public Enemy or Rage Against The Machine, perhaps; you have to rile up people’s emotions through the music. This album felt like a lecture set to a beat. 2/5

The album was somewhat good, but it felt like a slightly flat Public Enemy The beats were uninteresting a lot of the time, and the rapping was ok but nothing special. Some of the verses I enjoyed, it's a shame they can't write a chorus for shit. They think repeating the title of the song passes for one I did enjoy their take on California Uber Alles though that was fun

Day 246 A completely new artist for me and really enjoyed this, amazing how relevant it still is today Highlights Satanic reverses Language of violence Water pistol man

It is a very direct album, to the point of being almost just a speech at times. I think it rises above being just a speech overall. Good to listen to once, probably wouldn't again.

Pretty groovy, nice bars. Fav song is ‘Famous And Dandy’.

A classic loved the bluntness of how politics affects everyday life. 10/10

Liked this back in the day, but it's harder to return to. The socially-conscious rap is so unsubtle, closer to sloganeering than serious thought. And though some tracks still have some life - Famous and Dandy, Television - and I have a soft spot for their rewriting of California Uber Alles, it's very bloated as an album. There's a better 30 minute version somewhere in here.

i love me some socially conscious hip hop, but this wasn’t really doing it for me. i felt like he was mostly talking over the canned 90s beats with little regard to rhyme scheme.

Not as much musical variety as I'd like to hear in these songs, but they're often lyrically clever and powerful. Sadly, nearly 35 years after this album's release, the "current event" topics found in just about every track are still relevant and headline-making! Listening to an album like this is a clear reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same. :-(

okay

At a certain point socially conscious hip-hop just all blurs together. Just spoken word over beats rattling off bad shit Reagan did. You're not wrong, but it gets tedious.

I enjoyed the beats and the lyrics, while having a good message, weren’t enjoyable to listen to. More suited for a book of poetry than this. Rating: 2.5

Started out liking this but after a few songs the sermon he's giving got old and repetitive.

Interesting lyrics when I paid attention, but otherwise nothing particularly special

This album kept me flip flopping. First song, wasn't my cup of tea. Then it started getting better and I enjoyed and then back to weird. A 2 for now but maybe it would grow into a 3.

I enjoyed this, but did feel it was quite long and quite samey. Suspect it might grow with more listens

i found this a bit repetitive with some clunky lyrics but i really appreciate what it was trying to do. a shame these lyrics are still so relevant...

this album slapped. great tracks, powerful messages, and i learned so much about amos 'n' andy. the biggest shame is that the spotify version is missing a couple tracks, which are presumably all bangers as well. favorites: tracks 1-4, 7, 9, 10, and california über alles

I already knew and enjoyed Michael Franti's music, but I honestly had never heard of this group. Wow. There's some powerful imagery and heavy lyrics to get through, but I loved it. Spotify is missing 4 tracks, as is Apple Music (I believe), but the ones that are available are definitely worth a listen.

a little trippier/less hard than public enemy but feels like them trying to pull of some tribe style beats? Not my favorite.

'TV the Drug of a Nation' is classic, well thought out IMO. The rest of the album gets a bit dark and depressing.

Wow! These album blew me away. The lyrics, the intensity, the prescience. Totally a 5 star.

Weirdly, a few songs from this album seem to be unavailable on most streaming platforms. But from what I could listen to this is the classic, really smart hip hop from the early 90's that I love. Language of Violence was a real stand out for me. It's kind amazing to hear someone rapping about homosexuality in a way that would still stand out today. I'm surprised I'd never heard of this before.

What I found most interesting about this is that as I was researching this hip hop duo I realized that I knew the vocalist before because Michael Franti was in the rap/hardcore/punk band on Alternative Tentacles ‘The Beatnigs’. They were epic, well at least from what I remember what we would listen to on mix tapes. It’s also a reminder that the DIY Punk movement was so much more than we like to give credit to. The scene was ripe with a mix of punk, hip-hop, hardcore, indie, weirdos, noise, etc. It’s just the bible from that era “Get In The Van” makes everyone focus on just the punk rock portion of it. I love the talk rap thing Franti has going on here. The politics are on point and it’s like wow how we have not progressed as a species. Here is a bit from “The Winter Of The Long Hot Summer” seems pretty much like he is talking about what we’re going through right now. We tried to remember the history in the region The French foreign legion, Imperialism Peter O'Toole and hate the Ayatollah Were all we learned in school Not that we gave Hussein five billion Not of our new bed partner the Syrian And of course no mention Of the Palestine situation It was amazing how they steamrolled I type this out as our orange president is thinking of doing what all other presidents have done before him, commit some war crimes. And I’m sure the underground hip hop album from this era will have some chuckle fuck saying on a review site “too political”.

I liked this. Amazing how little we’ve progressed. I don’t agree with some of the views, like socialism being good, but overall enjoyable. 3.5.

Too much emphasis on messaging and not enough on good song making. And if they only knew how much worse it would get….

Hip-hop beats, jazz horns, and deep lyrics that repeat ad nauseam. If more time had been spent developing the lyrics to a complete thought instead of just repeated phrases, this could have been something creative. As it stands, the songs feel incomplete and not worthy of this list. I did dig the lead vocalists powerful voice over the beats. His authoritative voice reminded me a lot of Chuck D owning the mic. Needs work, but I like the framework.