Ever since those first four bars of Nine Inch Nails “Closer” hit back in the early 1990′s, there’s been the question of what a hip-hop album produced by Trent Reznor would sound like. Sure, Nine Inch Nails are a rock band, but long-time listeners know, under some of those guitars and sounds of scraping metal are crispy, thumping hip-hop beats. The idea of crossing genres has seemingly loomed in the back of Trent’s mind for a while now, as Dr. Dre was responsible for mixing “Even Deeper” on The Fragile, while El-P tapped him for “Flyentology”on I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead. But things have come full circle with the release of Saul Williams’ cleverly titled The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust, (the title a play on the David Bowie alter-ego “Ziggy Stardust”).

Saul has been touring with Nine Inch Nails for the last few years, opening for Trent and company during the With Teeth tour, with his brand of slam poetry mixed with live beats (or “hip-hop”, as some like to refer to it). Race has always played a role in his music, preceding his performance of “Black Stacy” by telling the crowd of antsy white goth kids waiting for Trent, that when they get home they have the option to remove their black t-shirt and black nail polish, but for him, blackness is a part of who he is.

Released as a digital only LP, the album is offered at NiggyTardust.Com, much like Radiohead’s In Rainbows – download it for free at 192kbps, or pay for a high-quality version. The album sounds much like a Nine Inch Nails record (and that’s a good thing), as Saul uses Trent’s beats to animate his spoken word poetry, creating a style of forward thinking hip-hop that you might find on a label like Definitive Jux.

The album begins with “Black History Month”, a blistering, thundering beat meshed with CX Kidtronik’s slurred background vocals, as Saul goes on a sarcastic rant suggesting the death of hip-hop, “lace your Shelltoes up like it was Black History Month.” This type of attitude is present through much of the album, again surfacing on “Tr(n)igger”, which lifts an 8-bar loop from Public Enemy’s “Welcome To The Terrordome”, meshing it with more sounds provided by Saul and Trent, for sound that’s even more Bomb Squad. Here, Saul questions our nature to use violence to solve problems, coming to the conclusion that man and gun are one in the same.

If that doesn’t raise eyebrows and inspire some self-examination, the title track “Niggy Tardust” will. Here, Saul introduces his alter ego to fans, very ironically suggesting “when I say Niggy, you say nothing”, exploring the use of the N-word in rap lyrics by sing-a-long white fans. Trent’s track is built off of a broken beat synth and a flattened, buzzing guitar riff that weaves around the beat. This is the prime example of what a hip-hop song produced by NIN would sound like – and it works.

The other side of the spectrum is explored as well – what a hip-hop artist would sound like doing his best Nine Inch Nails rendition. This isn’t a bad thing, nor is it biting, since it’s Trent behind the boards, but Saul gets his (amethyst) rockstar on several of the albums sung vocal tracks. “WTF” is pure Nine Inch Nails, as Saul vents his frustrations to a blistering climax over ominous pianos and a trademark distorted bassline. Again, on “No One Ever Does”, we find Saul in self-reflection over a mellow keyboard driven track, much in the vien of NIN’s own “Hurt,” but not nearly as depressing. Most surprisingly, we are treated to an amazing cover of U2′s “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, which is done completely in the Nine Inch Nails style.

The two worlds – rock and hip-hop mesh together and produce some of the album’s greatest results as it closes out. “Skin Of A Drum” has a building track that travels back to Trent’s industrial roots, as Saul speaks his lyrics with growing ferocity, bursting into song by the time the hook hits. “Raised To Be Lowered” takes this same approach as well, executing this style even better.

The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust is a great album from Saul Williams, easily his best yet. Critics may blast him for adopting the Nine Inch Nails sound – and naturally Trent does it better than him – but it’s kind of like listening to a Common album produced by Kanye – the two sounds go good together, so we aren’t mad at it at all. Spend five bucks and open your mind to some of the most original (and still listenable) hip-hop music you’ll ever hear. - Pizzo