Charity Begins at Home
HBD Label Group
****
With his much-anticipated solo effort Charity Begins at Home, Phonte forgoes trying to keep up with the kids like many older rappers do ("Don't need a new style, being dope is always in fashion"). Instead, he maintains his originality by marrying the slick rap skills that made him famous with his sadly defunct former group Little Brother and the vocal abilities that earned him a Grammy nomination with his new group project The Foreign Exchange. Phonte is not selling us a clichéd rap dream of self-promotion and vapid materialism typical of hip-hop today; he digs deeper and reaches inwardly to muse on the ups and downs of life.
Phonte's signature ability to elegantly weave similes and metaphors into complex verses is showcased throughout this quotable album. The album's fiery opener, Dance in the Reign, delivers one quotable punch line after the other.
The Little Brother-esque lyrical exchanges on Eternally and Life of Kings showcase Phonte's collaborative capabilities as he raps alongside underground rap heavyweights to the classic backdrop of the producer 9th Wonder's signature soul-tinged beats. Phonte gleans from his 10 years of experience to deliver a grown-up, conscious rap album that doesn't take itself too seriously and cements his position as a self-proclaimed underground king.
