Pap, Prodigy, and Havoc boast about how they will restore what the New York rap game has been missing Straight out the big apple, it’s Papoose and the Mobb the apple is nothing without me like Steve Jobbs.” “6AM” features Jim Jones and Jadakiss with Ice-T on the hook each telling a story holding true to the theme of waking up to the police knocking on your door. “Aim Shoot” features verses from Mobb Deep and samples Lloyd Banks’ “See Me Bright” lyric “…it spit longer than Papoose” as the hook. The Ron Browz produced “Mother Ghetto” is a poetic look at life in the ghetto with the message of taking pride in where you come from adding to Papoose’s hometown pride is a sample of Biggie’s classic question “Where Brooklyn At?” taken from a live Funk Flex freestyle featuring Mister Cee, Biggie and Tupac. Some of the strongest tracks are “Mother Ghetto,” “Aim Shoot,” and “6AM.” all of which are consistent with Papoose’s mixtape sound. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it is a quality verse that tells story and it was good to hear it completed on the track over vibrant theatrical production. I believe it was used as a freestyle around 2006. I was surprised to realize I knew all the words to the first verse immediately upon hearing it. On the intro Papoose sets the stage for the album and explains that the title is Nacirema (American spelled backwards) Dream instead of American Dream “ because a lot of people think backwards.” The first track, “Motion Picture,” may sound familiar. The extensive twenty track album has a little bit of everything from radio and club songs to vividly realistic tales of the ghetto as well as touching tracks addressing personal issues all brimming with punchlines an metaphors, which although are sometimes corny, entertain throughout.

The range of topics approached on the album is broad. Artists such as Kanye West and Pharrell were cut from the album as Pap decided in the current hip-hop climate an authentic New York album was needed. It has its high and low points and has undergone many changes over the years. A few tracks are current in subject matter, but not in sound. Most of the album sounds like it could have been recorded in Papoose’s Jive Record Days in the early to mid-2000s. With 28 official mixtapes, 8 official singles, 23 music videos, and countless freestyles under his belt this album hardly serves as a debut. Although Pap has never before dropped an album he has put out a great deal of music throughout his career. Papoose enlists the accompaniment of Mobb Deep, Erykah Badu, and DJ Premier among others including his incarcerated wife Remy Ma on The Nacirema Dream. Fifteen years later at age 34, he has finally completed his debut album. Papoose entered the rap game on Kool G Rap’s Roots of Evil album in 1998.

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