Organized Konfusion

Representing the creatively fertile hip-hop class of 1991, the underground hip-hop duo Organized Konfusion released their self-titled debut to little commercial success, but platinum records weren't the point. This proto-"undie" hip-hop group consisted of Prince Poetry and Pharoahe Monch, the latter of whom would dominate street-wise mix tapes throughout the 1990s. As Organized Konfusion, the two bounced rhymes off each other like an Olympic table-tennis team, turning them into thesaurus rap champions revered by an army of head-nodding backpackers. One of their weaknesses was keeping too much of the production in-house. At best this results in strange, ear-bending quilts of sound, but too often they settle on rather indistinguishable instrumental tracks -- the Buckwild-produced "Why" from Stress: The Extinction Agenda is a notable exception. Unfortunately, their own tracks on 1997's The Equinox substitute dullness for what they were really going for: darkness (something that was far too common on late-'90s underground hip-hop albums). Even so, both MCs could transcend even the most uninspired beats, which is why Organized Konfusion will be remembered. (KEMBREW MCLEOD)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide