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Prince Paul: A Prince Among Thieves (Tommy Boy); The Roots: Things Fall Apart (MCA)

Neil Kulkarni, Spin, March 1999

WHAT'S SO satisfying about the new offerings from Prince Paul and the Roots is how cut-off they seem from both indie-rap's 12-inch fetishism and pop-rap's video-single orientation. Both artists are using hip-hop techniques to create hour-long suites of conceptual pop, resisting the reigning industry model of the hip-hop LP as all-the-hits-and-plenty-of-filler.

Total word count of piece: 399

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