Organized Konfusion "Stress: The Extinction Agenda" (8/16/94)

The title ["Stress--The Extinction Agenda"] explains their album in two ways... The first part of the title, "stress", represents the time frame from before they finished their debut LP up until now and simply reflects all of the different ups and downs the group went through. Stress in the form of five deaths in their crew, disappointing sales from their first album resulting in money being short, disappointing listeners who did not want to figure out and appreciate their music. Prince explains the second part of the title, "Extinction Agenda" -- "extinction means to put something out permanently and we're trying to tell people that whatever's stopping you from getting ahead you gotta make them extinct, put them on the side, make them stay there, let them be dead. It also means Organized is gonna go all out, and do whatever we gotta do to get where we gotta go". "Stress--The Extinction Agenda" is as much about struggle as it is about how to deal with it. The two songs that best exemplify the dichotomy of their title would be "Stress" and "Black Sunday". In "Stress" they energetically shout in the chorus the directive to "Krush, Kill, Destroy Stress". In "Black Sunday", the group reflects on what they had to do to get where they are and being thankful for it, but still realizing they have a way to go to get where they want to be. Other key conceptual songs that fulfill the albums meaning are "Fight for Life", "Maintain", "Stray Bullet", and "Why". "Fight for Life" and "Maintain" tell people to do just that. "Stray Bullet" is about the unfortunate growing incidences of innocent bystanders, young and old, being struck and murdered by bullets that have missed their criminal targets. "Why", which is a sureshot anthem, is about as Prince explains "some girl shit where girls try to play n!@@-- out who have their shit on point!" 

....But of course it wouldn't be Organized Konfusion without the confusion and the rest of the album is a testament to why they are considered pioneers on the cutting edge at lyrical mastery and innovation. On "Bring It On", Monch rips a phoenetical freestyle frenzy with a pronounced stuttering style for the duration of three lines on his verse (warning: this should not be tried at home!) On "Extinction Agenda", Prince flexes a boast rap but takes it to the extreme where wack MCs fall off in a "scenario of a barren land... and you see limbs and body and he's corroded". The album rounds off with two pleasant surprises -- "Thirteen" which is a Monch solo and "Bounce" which is Prince's solo. "Bounce" features quick cameos from their boys OCee and Q-Tip from A Tribe Called Quest on the chorus. ... In a time where most Hip-Hop artist have big singles but disappointing albums Organized Konfusion offer a refreshingly complete package and show the sum can and should be greater than its parts. In a time also where most Hip-Hop artists depend heavily on gimmicks and/or portraying gangsters or politicians that they are not, Organized Konfusion show that you can draw from within and still be accepted. "We put our hearts and souls in it. While we gettin' payed at the same time we want to be real." - Bio, 1994. Also, check out 2DBZ's great look back at the album in 2015. One of my favorite projects [ever], read the full biography of O.K. below. As of today, the LP is not available on streaming platforms, but I trust they are working on it! MORE.

Organized Konfusion "Bring It On" (Buckwild Remix)

And to the Organisms ... Prince Po and Pharoahe Monch have been releasing music for 30 years! Going back to their Simply II Positive MCs days, then as Organized Konfusion, and still now as solo artists. Pharoahe Monch is one of the greatest technical lyricists our culture has ever witnessed. Po always held his own and proves his ability time and again on his solo releases. If you ask me for a list of greatest verses of all-time ?? ... Pharoahe's verse on 'Bring It On' (specifically over Buckwild's '96 remix) will get an immediate mention! I've never heard anyone disagree with me on this either!

"Incisions are made into the brain and then I begin to give em

A lobotomy, follow me!

I'm shapin your br-ayi-yi-ya-in ... li-li-li-li-like ... pot-der-der-der-ery ...

ALL OVER THE TRACK!"

Organized Konfusion "The Equinox" (Rap Pages, 10/97)

"Before 90's Hip-Hop fell victim to all-too-familiar loops, monotonous production and humdrum orators, the gifted Organized Konfusion lyricists, Pharoahe Monch and Prince Poetry, were already prepping heads for the forthcoming stress lurking around the corner. Coming straight outta Queens, New York - a land which already gave us the likes of A Tribe Called Quest, Nas and Mobb Deep - Organized Konfusion undertook the task of giving listeners a taste of exquisite verbal semantics. yet, unlike some of their Queens comrades, the duo still hasn't been able to hear the ring of cash registers, due in part to a combo of so-called "Hip-Hop" radio stations and MTV giving them next-to-no love. Sad at it may seem, heads will put notes down on Shaq ten times before they do these kids. Tho' in the hearts of many a trooper, Organized still remain icons, which may account for their well-developed resiliency.... For their third disc, The Equinox, Organized puts forth a bag complete with fresh goodies. You see, Equinox isn't just an LP but it is also a chronicle, as Prince and Monch become the characters Life and Malice, giving heads incite to the duo's kinship from their early, raucous childhood years to their more responsibility-driven adult years...." 

"While taking us through the soundtrack of their lives, the boys also manage to weave into the mix questions regarding self-preservation, temptation and fatherhood, backed by startling production that paints pictures of raw anger, isolation and evaluation, and forces listeners to pay close attention to the business at hand. But while Organized have shown peeps in the past that their lyrical magic isn't lost when dealing with narratives (ie: "Stray Bullet" and "Who Stole My Last Piece of Chicken"), some may still lose faith that the flair can be kept top-notch through an entire composition. Sample the festive, head-bobbing "Somehow, Someway," in which Pharoahe, in a fervent chant, picks apart weed-inspired MCs: "Y'all know the unprecedented / without herb every single word would be verbally demented." Equinox is definitely O.K's best effort to date, and tho' most heads may continue to sleep, those who do partake in this venture will undoubtedly find their dough to be very well spent." - The Source, Rap Pages October 1997. Check out the full review below...

Organized Konfusion "The Equinox" (Billboard, 1997)

"Long respected in the hip-hop underground, Organized Konfusion is resurfacing after a three-year hiatus with a new concept collection titled "The Equinox." Following a two-album sting with Hollywood Basic Records ... "The Equinox" will emerge Sept. 23 on Priority Records. Since their last release, crew members Pharoahe Monch and Prince Poetry say they've kept busy regrouping and building their camp... "We decided not to simply point fingers at Hollywood Basic. We said, 'Let's see what we can do to make our situation better."... The Equinox displays evidence that Organized Konfusion's brotherly bond is still strong and that its creative drive is still very much active. Poetry credits the positive feedback they've received from fans and critics over the years for helping them remain and maintain. "And what's also kept us afloat for three albums is the fact that we don't have a niche. We always come different, and I think that not knowing what to expect from us keeps people constantly intrigued. I mean, we didn't even know what we were going to do going into this album."

"Ultimately, Organized Konfusion decided to create an aural movie highlighting the good-time / bad-time experiences of a "couple maturing homies," complete with a gravelly voiced narrator from the streets of Brooklyn, N.Y. "The album's concept is derived from its title, which refers to the time of year when the sun crosses the equator and day and night are equal," Monch says. "These people are at the midpoint of their lives, when they're in the middle of a lot of important decisions. They mirror some of our situations and some of the situations we see people go through. And to make the record interesting, we jumped ahead 20 years. The narrator goes back and tells how he got to this destination." Although every song on "The Equinox" doesn't fit tightly into the story line, Monch says, "Since we're so diverse and versatile, we wanted a way to kinda get everything together. I hate to sound cliche, but we think this album really brings together the whole O.K. thing." (Updated).

Organized Konfusion "Stress: The Extinction Agenda" (1994)

"Hailing from Jamaica, NY, the members of Organized Konfusion began absorbing a variety of musical influences early - everything from Jazz and gospel to R&B. Price and Monch are from the same South Jamaica neighborhood. They met in 1986 while they were in high school. "Monch, who used to beatbox, was mad popular," recalls Prince. "He asked me about making a tape - as a hobby. But when we listened back to it, we both said it sounded phatter than stuff that was on the radio. We decided to become serious about pursuing a musical career." Pharoahe added, "We call our music medicine because it makes you feel good ... The rap industry is a little sick right now, with so much posing and formatting going on. So, with our songs, we're trying to give new energy to people that are tired of the same ol' shit." Arguably their most popular track was "Stress," which and was inspired by "the gamut of emotions Monch and Prince experienced since 1992, when Organized Konfusion dropped its critically praised and influential debut set. On "Stress: The Extinction Agenda," Pharoahe says "We went through a lot of struggle and hard times... And we're talking about relationships, business dealings ... everything." - via Organized Konfusion's original press kit. Check the video for their single, "Stress," below; one of my favorite songs of all-time. Cont'd below...

"At a certain point, people have to realize that there is hip-hop whose primary purpose isn't to rock clubs or bump jeeps... As much as hip-hop elitists refuse to believe, there is a majority of people who have no idea who Organized Konfusion is. They don't know that Queens' own Pharoahe Monch and Prince Poetry are two of the most respected and acclaimed lyrical scientists in the hip-hop core. They may not remember OK's debut album or their singles "Fudge Pudge" or "Walk In The Sun." And maybe they don't care to find out. But for many others, the second Organized album, "Stress: The Extinction Agenda," has been agonizingly overdue. Even though this album is on another level from the pablum of mainstream music, this guarantees nothing at the cash register. The essence of Organized Konfusion is pure lyricism. More so than any other artists out now, Monch and Prince are masters of words and phrases. On "Bring It On," they become verbal contortionists, creating moving molecules of syllables and sounds, new rhyme flows and sound effects. On "Stress," "Black Sunday" and "Thirteen," the duo no longer experiments with verbal sounds. Instead they use their skills to convey their emotions with lyrics... The power of poetry goes without saying, but musically some of the tracks are very dark, eerie and, at times, too heavy and almost monotonous... But on the brighter second half, you have Buckwild-produced "Why," the ill boogie beat of "3-2-1" and the ridiculously dope bounce track "Let's Organize" (featuring O.C. and Q-Tip).... I can't say this album is for everybody and I can't even say it is the most enjoyable to listen to. But you should buy because it just might expand your mind if you put in the effort." - The Source, September 1994.

The full review from The Source can be read below...

Organized Konfusion "Stress" (The Source, 8/94)

It just may be that all geniuses are destined to be misunderstood, but even still, this group of lyrical masterminds have gotten more than their deserved share of stress. After one underappreciated album and years of underground critical acclaim, Pharoahe Monch and Prince Poetry are finally back to take a few swings for the recognition and success they deserve. But until their new album drops, fans can settle their cravings with "Stress," the group's artistic response to the tribulations of the rap game. The original version surrounds the brain with eerie synth slides, discordant trumpet blasts and dense drums. You find yourself tensing up as the chorus seethes, "Crush / Kill / Destroy / Stress." And then Monch concocts his complex molecular compounds with lyrics like, "You will now consider me the apocalyptic one / After this rhyme / Henceforth there is none / No more will exist when I emerge from the mist in which I was born into / Scorned... / My perception of poetical injection is ejaculation / The immaculate conception ... " But the bonafide bomb is the Extra P remix which features a body-rock bounce beat, with all new lyrics from Monch, Prince and the mad scientist himself, Large Professor. This track's centrifugal force will pull you in, alerting you to the fact that the time has finally come for Organized Konfusion to walk into the sun. - The Source, August 1994. Watch Pharoahe Monch take you back to memories of shooting the music video for Organized Konfusion's "Stress" in the video below. Click HERE for the Xtra P remix.

"Stress" is one of the greatest 12" singles of the 1990s...

Organized Konfusion "Organized Konfusion" (The Source, 1/92)

OK's debut single "Who Stole My Last Piece of Chicken," was dope, but it didn't really give you a good idea of what this crew is about, lyrically speaking. Buy this album, take it home, and prepare to sweat brain cells trying to keep up with the way these kids rhyme. MC's Prince Poetry and Pharoahe Monch flip the illest off-beat rhyme style to come out since Ultramagnetic's Kool Keith... Organized is definitely on some other shit. "The cut that seems to epitomize their concept most is "Releasing Hypnotical Gases." The title should suffice to let you know how bugged it is. The beats fall right in sync with the lyrical atmosphere, full of mad soulfull jazz breaks topped with crazy sounds like the backwards guitars on the title cut and the sound of bubbling fluids before "...Hypnotical Gases." "Roosevelt Franklin" makes a statement about life in the 'hood. Roosevelt is a brother seeking a balance between doing well in school, being a good son to his moms, while getting paid slinging rocks on the down-low. Other stand-out cuts are "Fudge Pudge," "Audience Pleasers," with a laid-back freestyle feel, and the "...Chicken" remix hooked up with some fat live instrumentals. Organized is talking hip-hop to new levels. Those who like to hear progressive and innovative styles need to get with it. - The Source (1/92). The LP isn't on DSPs, so watch "Fudge Pudge" below...

The full review of Organized Konfusion in The Source (1/92) is below...