The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust [Explicit Lyrics]

Saul Williams | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 8, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics
• Label: Fader Label
• ASIN: B00197U0VM
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,638 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #10 in Music > Miscellaneous > Poetry, Spoken Word & Interviews > Poetry

Editorial Reviews

Saul Williams with his album, Inevitable Rise & Liberation of Niggy Tardust! The CD contains five exclusive bonus tracks including 'List Of Demands', featured in the massive Nike 'My Better' TV campaign. Also features a cover of U2's 'Sunday Bloody Sunday.' Album produced by Trent Reznor/NIN. First establishing himself as an influential poet, and then as an award-winning screenwriter/actor, Saul Williams then went on to establish himself as an MC. His approach to MCing, though, wasn't exactly in line with the traditional school of Hip-Hop. His rhymes weren't really rhymes but rather his poetry delivered in a frenzied spoken word manner that was more rhythmic than alliterate.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Return of the Grippo King, July 9, 2008

By 

Marcos F. Hernandez "mhmunin" (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust (Audio CD)

With the invention of the Niggy Tardust persona Saul Williams has escalated his performance far beyond the traditional role of the MC. He's birthed Niggy as some kind of spectral shaman over a ritual of reflection on the past, present, and future of Hip-Hop, but more than that, he makes the ritual fun. Saul's overwhelming live charisma transfers over to disc with little impact lost.

This collaboration with Trent Reznor and CX KiDTRONiK among others pushes genre boundaries while hearkening back to the Bomb Squad production of early Public Enemy proving that, in the right hands, Hip-Hop can still be a tool of liberation.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Saul Williams for Vice President, July 23, 2008

By 

D. Gladden "math blaster" (Muskegon, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust (Audio CD)

Saul Williams is making a righteous statement with this album, and it seems that many people have missed the point. The rap industry has dumbed down its most prominent figures into n-words, the very thing many of its artists have been fighting against in their poetry. Subtly stated in the chorus of the satirical opening track, "The banana peels are carefully placed", Saul is pointing out that the state of mainstream rap is just waiting for the artist to slip and fall back into the unevolved, simian craving for "money cash hoes". I have always believed there is a difference between rap and hip-hop. Hip-hop to me has a more positive connotation, with progressive lyricists such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli, and Common cutting paths underground to shed a positive, open-minded message. Saul is among these leaders in the hip-hop genre.

Let's not forget that Saul was the first semi-well known artist to release his album online exclusively. Yes, months before radiohead, and about a year before his co-conspirator Trent Reznor, this was the initial slap in the face to the music industry.

The dark pulse of Trent Reznor driven beats is the perfect backdrop for the dark message Saul is trying to convey. Unless he completely sells out, he will never "team with a big name producer"; he represents the anti-mainstream. Key tracks such as "Black History Month", "Tr(n)igger", "Niggy Tardust", "Raised to Be Lowered", and "The Ritual" demonstrate the theme of his concept album perfectly. Quoted from the song "Niggy Tardust" - "When I say Niggy, you say nothing. Niggy - NOTHING! Shut up." There's another person who missed the point.

As a twenty-something white male, I feel that Saul's political poetry stands alongside Barack Obama in pushing racism back into the 20th century. Ignore the naysayers, and do not ignore this album.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure poetry, June 1, 2009

By 

Lost Johnny (China) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust (Audio CD)

This is a superb album. If all hip hop was this good....
"Niggy Tardust" is not just hip hop but also combines elements of industrial rock and other genres in a very artistically pleasing way. Both the sound and the lyrics are inspiring. The subject matter may not be comfortable for some but we need to listen anyway. Saul Williams is political and that's the way he should be.