In hip-hop you have four different kinds of emcees. You have your conscious emcee, your battle emcee, your jiggy emcee and your filthy street emcee. Some try to fit into two or more categories (ie 50 Cent’s “Street/Jiggy” persona), but all emcees lean toward one more than the other. When Heltah Skelter dropped Nocturnal almost a decade ago, not only did they fall into the latter category, they exuded the streets. Ruck (now known as Sean Price) and Rock delivered the dopest, gulliest, version of the streets they could come up with and had everyone up in arms. But just as soon as they picked up steam they disappeared (after the lukewarm response to Magnum Force) and the streets were left up to The Lox, 50 Cent, Freeway and Beanie Sigel to claim. But now the emcee that traded verses with the dominant delivery of Rock and commanded his own version of wicked wordplay has gone solo. Ruck, now known as Sean Price, attempts to exhale the very streets that birthed him once again with Monkey Bars. 

   Sean Price is undeniably fiendish with his clever wordplay and Monkey Bars proves how brutal he can come across. As soon as the darkness of “Peep My Words” eeks out of speakers, it becomes apparent that Sean P hasn’t lost a step lyrically. Much of his time is spent badgering broads and flexing his shit talking muscle. Unfortunately, for those who have been on a Sean Price binge for the last 4 or 5 years, many of his verses have appeared elsewhere (via mixtape) and don’t quite quench the thirst of those who have been salivating for an “official” release. But for those who passed on the mixtape circuit, Monkey Bars provides quite a few astounding moments. “Onion Head” features a raucous Sean Price pairing with Tek to trounce a solid 9th Wonder production. With lines like “Got a dime bitch that lives in Japan/Black belt, suck dick, chop bricks with her hand/Arigato, Sean Price slick like El Gato/3 piece suit in the booth, ain’t shit cute/Might smack off half of your smile/Go to court with a suit/and smack the other half after trial”. Sean Price still shows he is slick with the wordplay. Other shining moments include the so tough yet so loving “Hearburn” (also produced by 9th) and the Dru Ha thumping BCC union on “Shake Down”. From a production aspect, Sean P does well with his choices. The vibrant Khrysis offering “Bye Bye” is simply amazing. “Boom Bye Yeah” also is infused with the type of energy fitting for Sean P to deliver violence in the form of witty wordplay.

    There are some missteps on the album though. From the strange inclusion of “Fake Neptune Song”, which is exactly what it is (in a horrible way), to the super syrupy “I Love You (Bitch)” Sean Price’s album comes up a bit short. At times on the album, Sean Price’s material becomes a bit monotonous and doesn’t shift gears enough to please the listener for 16 tracks. Monkey Bars is a solid album yet it doesn’t serve the fans, who have waited for years, with the type of offering expected from Sean Price.