Chris Palko—stage name Cage—must appeal to someone out there. Over the course of streaming his new album Kill the Architect and looking into his previous albums, I saw plenty of fans that were hyped over the rapper’s work, praising it at every turn. Unfortunately, I’m definitely not a member of this audience—the shock-rap of Kill the Architect was a terribly boring (and sometimes confusing) experience for this listener.
Not to say the album was devoid of songs that caught my attention. In fact, I rather enjoyed “You Were the Shit (In High School).” A burning stab at those hoodie-wearing conformists (that also do coke, apparently), Cage and producer Mr. Bomb Camp make an interesting juxtaposition of dark rapping set against a simple beat and piano line. Lyrics about how Cage didn’t fit in and how he coped as others who put him down destroyed themselves sound like the only honest words on the album that aren’t buried in over-the-top attempts to shock the listener with violence and abuse. “Watch Me” and “This Place” also echo this honesty with themes of self-destruction and alienation.
The album as a whole is a bogged-down experience, though. Much of the angst and honesty of Cage’s lyrics are wasted on dull-sounding music and even-duller (and sometimes excessive) attempts to shock the listener. And that’s a shame, because honesty is the only thing Cage really has going for him lyrically—at times, he can give the listener a remarkable look into his beaten and torn mind. But, he’s no wordsmith, and the listener will often find themselves more focused on the fact that he used abortion as a metaphor rather than the heart-break it metaphorically represents.
I can’t say I truly enjoyed Kill the Architect, or that Cage will earn any new fans with it—but a few tracks at least made the listen interesting. And for those fans that clearly enjoy the New York rapper’s shock-and-awe rapping with not-so-shock-and-awe music, it’ll definitely live up to the hype his fans have given it.
Rating: C-
