Customer Reviews

American Hunger

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you aren't skeptical going into this album, then you maybe a little too optimistic. I'll state why as easily as I possibly can; would you even expect your favorite emcee to be able to pull off an album with three discs, which each consist of twenty tracks, and run about an hour long per album? I know that I couldn't even trust my all-time favorite emcees to deliver on such an ambitious effort, and would expect a large amount of filler among the dope tracks. Although I'm a large fan of Grimm, I can't say that he's my favorite emcee of all time, or even today, and I was more than suspecting a disc worth of filler. I KNOW Grimm is one of the illest in the business, past and present, but three discs? Most emcees can't even release two discs without including a number of lackluster cuts. It's remarkable that Grimm can blaze through sixty tracks, and continue captivating along the ride.

With that being said, this release is phenomenally crafted, and legendary for its concept alone; if double-discs album littered with filler like All Eyez on Me and Life After Death are classic albums, what does that make a virtually flawless triple-disc album like MF Grimm's American Hunger? While Grimm may not have the commercial backing of another emcee who was shot nearly a dozen times, or the cult-like support that his former partner-in-rhyme possesses, he is one of the dopest emcees you're going to find in any part of the hip-hop game, and his work-ethic even puts the most prolific emcees' quantity of material to shame. However, despite this album consisting of sixty tracks, quantity isn't the essential idea behind it; quality is.

Giving a thorough review of a work of art this massive would be nearly impossible to do, especially with the word-limit Amazon has set, and I doubt anyone has the time, or even the patience to do a run-down on each of these tracks; and believe me, every track found within this album deserves the same amount of attention as the next. While there may not be any track you immediately jump to on any of the three discs(with the exception of the infamous album closer, "The Book of Daniel"), it WILL keep you along, and entertained, for the entire ride. With sophisticated production, tight lyrics, and a range of emotion displayed by few other emcees, MF Grimm creates an album that is almost like a 'thank you' to his loyal supporters. In fact, scratch that, not almost - this IS a thank you note to his fans, and fans will be ever the more gratious based on this release.

Whether Grimm is spitting street-tales, introspective, and heartwrenching tales, or just dropping general knowledge, American Hunger succeeds in all fields, and then some. It may've received little publicity, even within the blogger realm, but if any release of the last decade deserves undisputed critical acclaim, it's this release. Hip-hop heads will find great solace in Grimm's rhymes and flows, and the fresh beats laced throughout the album. Those who aren't familiar with Grimm, this is recommended to introdce you to the man; it's his best, and most personal work to date, and yes, that includes all three discs. Fans of DOOM, like myself, don't worry about the beef; it's a shame, definitely, but as long as these two ill emcees continue releasing the music we've come to adore, no internal conflicts can change your view. Buy this album, and not only support hip-hop and Grimm, but also the ambition, and unbelievable amount of sweat and tears that went into this release; no matter how many dope releases have come out in this fine year for hip-hop, MF Grimm's stands out as the most ambitious, and complete work.

Three CDs, 60 songs, and no filler. Amazingly, MF Grimm's gigantic triple album (the first in hip hop history) is full of solid material. I'm a fan of Grimm, but to be honest, I was skeptical when I heard about this album. Hip hop records these days generally feature two or three stand out tracks and the rest is junk. But American Hunger did not fall victim to this horrible trend. My hat is off to MF Grimm and his Day By Day fam.

Like always, Grimm's lyrics are on point and tackle just about every topic under the sun and are delivered with a lot of emotion and a variety of flows, or as the name indicates, with Many Flows (MF). Another review mentioned the two songs featuring Nate Denver. For those who don't know, Nate Denver is journalist. I've seen his stuff in Vibe, Mass Appeal (Ghostface and MF Doom piece) and Scratch. The two songs he's on are decidedly different, but they're hot. They remind me of Gnarls Barkley and N.E.R.D. Variety is what helps hip hop grow, so hats off again to Grimm for pushing limits.

This album is a definite must buy. Never fear the Reaper's here.

American Hunger is a good quality album with a lot of really good tracks if not any one classic. Obviously with three discs there are some songs that are better than others, and although I didn't find myself skipping over the same tracks time after time there are a few songs with repetitive choruses that made me wonder whether MF was really trying emphasize something or if he was trying to fill up some space on this massive project. Content wise I would say there is a lot to be taken away from this album with some thought provoking material as well as a great diversity. From comical to political and even a clever and rather complete synopsis of the Godfather from the perspective of Michael Corleone to 'Fredo, Grimm lives up to his moniker, "Many Flows". The production has bright spots but is below average on many tracks. I don't fault MF too much for that because if you are going to buy this album it will likely be for the lyrics, which as stated were solid. The only other fault I can see in this album is that the delivery of MF is very deliberate and simple, which he even comments on in some of the songs on the album. Apparently he has done this purposely to make all of his thoughts accessible to the listener, which I don't mind, but some hip-hop heads will probably find it a little awkward sounding. Having bought this album without hearing a single track and only having heard a few things from Grimm before this I was impressed enough to go back and purchase more of his material. Despite the fact that there may be a bit of filler on here, you are still getting more than two albums worth of quality tracks and I still think it is a good value. As a fan of KRS-one and many other "conscious" rappers I appreciate MF coming with a message, even if I don't always agree with it. If you are considering this purchase I recommend you pick it up. I doubt that you will be disappointed.

I really like MF Doom, and wanted to hear Grimm try and shine. It's ok, I see why Doom went solo though...just not one of my favorites

you would think making a triple disk, each of them over 70+ minutes each it would get tiring listing to it but NO WAY!!!!!!! he brings that classic NY style to this one plus he does some styles you would never think he would do, but he pulled it off with ease!!, one of my favorite tracks is BRAND NEW OH MY GOD!!!! the production on that one is something special it's so many classic tracks to choose from and he has a producer on here who I wasn't expected him to have on his cd to do about 10 of the tracks is DJ CRUCIAL he's from saint louis go to f5records.com he is unbelieveable on production LARGE PRO killed it on the track they did together MF grimm poured his heart and soul in this CD a must have, he's been threw alot. This is the CD to have for any hip-hop fan.

4 1/2 stars.
About 2 years ago I read Grimm came out with a triple album and I saw the cover which is the worst I've seen in a while and I decided not to immediatley buy it since it cost like $30, was a triple album which I thought was a little pretensious, his last efforts like Digital Tears and the Downfall of Iblis were disappointing, and there were other albums I thought would be better.
2006 ended and another really disappointing year in hip hop came with 2007. I gave American Hunger a shot and I'm glad I did.
American Hunger isn't just a load of low quality songs thrown together haphazardly. This is a bonefied triple album with a begining middle and end. I'm a big fan of most of the production, the storytelling seems honest and to come from the heart like he cares about what he's rhyming about which you don't see that often (think songs like Scars and Memories) and the deliveries original, the few guest appearances over the 60 songs aren't disappointing either.
In like 30 years people will look back at this album with a lot more interest and wonder why no one ever heard it.
Strongly reccomended.

I picked up this album only after picking up Grimm's latest release, the outstandin "Hunt for the Gingerbread Man". Last year I said Cunninlynguists' "A Piece of Strange" was my Album of the Year, but if I had heard this one then, I would have probably changed that to American Hunger.

This is an ambitious and very epic project and it doesn't disappoint. Its tough to rate a triple-album because of the sheer amout of music, but there really isn't many, if any throwaway songs. I have my favorites from each disc that I have combined into one disc simply because I like to hear my favorite tracks from each disc, and alot of times I don't have the time to invest a 3 hour sitting to listen to the album.

It really pains me that Grimm is so slept on though, and even I being a pretty big Doom/Grimm fan slept on this one until now (although I had been meaning to get it for sometime) This is a career-defining work that should not be missed.

My American Hunger Best of CD:

1.American Hunger - Breakfast (1)
2.Wonderland (1)
3.Right There (1)
4.I Rather Be Wrong (1)
5.The Trees (1)
6.Steal It (1)
7.My Mentality (1)
8.A Mother's Heart (1)
9.American Hunger - Lunch (2)
10.Playground (2)
11.Traveling (2)
12.Things I've Said (2)
13.Broken Glasses (2)
14.Teacher (2)
15.American Hunger - Last Supper (3)
16.Heaven Can Wait (3)
17.Government of Deception (3)
18.Elevate (3)
19.Ten Stories (3)
20.Simple Rhyme (3)
21.Book of Daniel (3)


Top Tracks:

I Rather Be Wrong
Right There
Steal It
Broken Glasses
Book of Daniel

Have you ever ridden in a car with someone who doesn't know how to keep constant pressure on the gas? They can't get the car to just cruise at 35mph, so they press on and off the accelerator to keep the car fluctuating between 32 and 38mph, all the while their passengers uncomfortably jerk back and forth in their seats, praying that the ride will smooth itself out before they throw up. Has that ever happened to you?

That experience is the closest comparison I can draw to what listening to MF Grimm's vocal stylings is like. Stop, start, stop, start, slow down, speed up, show promise, stumble, disappoint, repeat: That's the formula, and Grimm's the man that brings it to you.

Now before I end up upsetting the small army of Grimm listeners out there, let me say that American Hunger is still a very impressive release that features more than a couple excellent tracks. I sincerely doubt that most mainstream/big time underground rappers and MCs could pull off an album of this one's staggering size, and I have absolutely no doubt that none of them would choose to do so unless their life depended on it. Grimm should be commended for the incredible amount of work he put into American Hunger - it absolutely is one of those rare albums that qualifies as being a true accomplishment regardless of the quality of music that lies within.

All of that said, I feel the whole of the album is mediocre. Props to Grimm for not cluttering this album with worthless skits and spoken word tracks that no one in their right mind would listen to (DOOM could take a lesson from Grimm to this end), and the beats across all 3 discs are superb, but the vocals just aren't there for me. There's no flow to these lyrical flows, they're more lyrical stutter steps set to catchy hooks. Always listenable, but rarely engrossing.

American Hunger stretches across 3 discs, cutely titled "Breakfast", "Lunch", and "Dinner". Across the 3 discs, I was able to find 12 tracks that I really, earnestly enjoyed a great deal:

I Rather Be Wrong
M.I.C.
The Gingerbread Man
Playground
It's No Secret
United
I Love You
Traveling
Broken Glasses
Elevate
Twin Peaks
Simple Rhyme

That's 12 tracks out of sixty, or exactly 1/5th of the total album. But here's what kills me: if Grimm hadn't been so hellbent on creating an epic, he could have released those 12 tracks on one disc and thereby presented the world with a true CLASSIC (he could have even put his epic track "Book of Daniel" on there to top things off, though that one wasn't exactly my cup of tea). As is, American Hunger is just 12 great tracks stuffed between 144 minutes of pure mediocrity... if he'd only cut the fat, he could have really released something special.

[...]
WOW!!! MF Grimm releasing a triple LP! This is an amazing feat and one that makes for many skeptics. 3 CDs must mean there's a lot of garbage all over the place. In most cases, yes, but here Grimm laces each disc with a theme and simply drops science. "Grimm, you've been shot like 50/ you sould rhyme about it like 50/ then you'll get paid like 50" Okay, maybe not the dopest rhymes he has on the LP, but they stick out in my head. Yes, there are a couple joints that are blaaah, but for the most part the only thing that really sucks with this album is its cover.

Quite a few stand out tracks throughout the album with production by DJ Crucial, Skammadik (what's up fam), Soce (what's up), Architect, J. Marty and a ton of others with guest spots from other M.I.C. members, Large Pro and PMD. Honestly, the only tracks I cannot listen to are produced by Niel... or Nate Denver, pure garbage. Just imagine if Bob Denver tried making hip hop. Yep...

A couple months ago Grimm started building a buzz for this LP due to his developing beef with Doom and the release of "Book of Daniel." The track samples the same ish as "Pass the Bone" from GZA, but this track stings so much more. The kind of dis track that makes you go, "Damn... Only a loved one could say ish like that."

All in all, this was an amazing feat and it is an amazing LP. Maybe one day Grimm and Doom will kill the beef, but with Doom's rise in popularity and fame with the white kids, I'm not sure. Money is a crazy drug.

Lester Diamonds obviously doesn't know anything so don't listen to the guy.

This is a great 3 CD album, quality all the way through by the living LEGEND MF Grimm.

make sure to check it out!