Press Release:
With so much unimaginative, uninspiring Hip-Hop being dropped on the world every Tuesday, it’s hard to figure how an obvious talent like Philadelphia rapper Jamal Gray (aka ‘The Last Emperor’) has managed to remain under the rap radar. Gray signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Records in 1996, but sat on the bench there for a few years before signing with Rawkus Records in 2000 – right before that company went into financial decline. All told, The Last Emp’s debut album, Palace Of The Pretender, was nearly 10 years in the making before it was finally released in 2003 by Raptivism Records.

The time invested in the album shows. Almost every track here is a winner, with Gray experimenting in many different meters and rhyme schemes. He goes from storytelling (’Karma’ and ‘Single Mother’) to silky flow showboating (’Shine’) to anthemic peacemaking (’Let’s Ride’) to 70’s-style soul singing (’Do You Care?’) without missing a beat. This would be an impressive display of vocal virtuosity from an experienced MC, but for a debut album, it’s off the charts.

The Emp saves his best for last though, with the epic MC/Comic Book Hero showdown described in the two part ‘Secret Wars’ and ‘Secret Wars II’. “What if I had the power to gather all my favourite emcees, with the illest comic book characters and they became arch enemies?” he wonders aloud, before proceeding to verbally animate just such battles. Redman vs. The Incredible Hulk, Nas vs. Spiderman, and Busta Rhymes vs. Dr. Octopus are but three of the more than two dozen grudge matches that he details. Most impressively, he rhymes in credible imitation of many of the MCs mentioned, right down to Eminem’s nasal punk flow and Ludacris’ bouncy Southern twang.

Palace Of The Pretender has also been released in the US under the title Music, Magic, Myth, but neither title is currently in print. If you see it anywhere, be sure to snap it up, as this album regularly changes hands for more than $100. A sad comment on how few copies of this classic were sold upon release.

Artist: The Last Emperor
Album: Palace Of The Pretender
Release Date: 2004

Tracklist:
01 Tiger Trail
02 Karma
03 One Life (feat. Poetic & Esthero)
04 Meditation
05 Do You Care
06 Shine
07 The Incredible Man
08 Let's Ride
09 Hold On
10 Single Mother
11 The Great Pretender
12 Here We Are
13 The Drifter
14 Clear Day (feat. Masta Ace & Trug)
15 Echoleader

Review:
With a powerhouse of beats and lyrics....An easy, 4.8 yellow babies out of 5!

Tracks Below: