Pharoahe Monch’s fourth solo album, PTSD, has the New York-based rapper analyzing how the often unseen traumas of life affect us all. That said, the release’s single collaboration with The Roots’ Black Thought for “Rapid Eye Movement” resonates more like a fierce, one-off rap spar session; the two emcees rattle off syllables over a menacing Marco Polo production that’s hooked around an ominous piano motif. During Monch’s rapid-fire blitzkrieg, the MC both references Manchester United’s soccer team and moseys into an art gallery only to “piss on a Picasso.” Meanwhile, Thought takes shots at Socrates, of all people, by way of philosophical warning shots directed towards Ancient Greece. Call it incendiary rap music, if you will.
PTSD (which does indeed stand for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is out on April 15 via War Media. Listen to “Rapid Eye Movement” below.
