Rip the Jacker

Infobox Album
Name = Rip the Jacker
Type = studio


Artist = Canibus
Released = July 22 2003
Recorded = 2002–2003
Genre = East Coast hip hop, hardcore hip hop
Length = 44:56
Label = Mic Club/Babygrande
Producer = Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind
Reviews = *AllHipHop rating|4|5Brown, C. (August 14 2003). [http://allhiphop.com/stories/reviews/archive/2003/08/14/18134105.aspx Reviews : Rip The Jacker] . AllHipHop. Accessed February 24 2008.]
*Allmusic rating|3|5Kellman, Andy. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ceq8b594zsq4 allmusic ((( Rip the Jacker > Overview )))] . Allmusic. Accessed February 21 2008.]
*"The A.V. Club" (favorable)Rabin, Nathan (September 16 2003). [http://www.avclub.com/content/node/14630 Visions Of Gandhi | The A.V. Club] . "The A.V. Club". Accessed February 24 2008.]
*"Entertainment Weekly" (ambivalent)Weiner, Jonah (August 8 2003). [http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,472453,00.html Rip the Jacker (2003)] . "Entertainment Weekly". Accessed April 14 2008.]
*HipHopDX rating|4|5J-23 (August 23 2003). [http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/reviews/id.305/title.canibus-rip-the-jacker Canibus - Rip The Jacker] . HipHopDX. Accessed February 24 2008.]
*RapReviews (10/10)Juon, Steve (September 2 2003). [http://rapreviews.com/archive/2003_09F_jacker.html Canibus :: Rip the Jacker] . RapReviews. Accessed February 24 2008.]
*"Stylus Magazine" (B+)Murphy, Kilian (April 5 2004). [http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/canibus/rip-the-jacker.htm Canibus - Rip the Jacker - Review - Stylus Magazine] . "Stylus" magazine. Accessed February 24 2008.]
*The Situation (4/5) [Spyce. [http://www.thesituation.co.uk/reviews/canibus2_review.html Canibus Review] . The Situation. Accessed February 24 2008.]
*Urban Smarts (73/100) [Cornerstone (December 22 2003). [http://www.urbansmarts.com/reviews/albums/canibus1.htm Rip The Jacker] . Urban Smarts. Accessed February 24 2008.]
*Yahoo! Music (favorable)Leroy, Dan (July 15 2003). [http://music.yahoo.com/read/review/12061692 Rip The Jacker] . Yahoo! Music. Accessed February 24 2008.]
Last album = ""
(2002)
This album = "Rip the Jacker"
(2003)
Next album = "Mind Control"
(2005)Singles
Name = Rip the Jacker
Type = studio
single 1 = Spartibus
single 1 date = June 24 2003
single 2 = Indibisible
single 2 date = December 2003

"Rip the Jacker" is the fifth studio album by rapper Canibus, released on July 22 2003 through Babygrande Records.

Conception

After producer Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (of the group Jedi Mind Tricks) produced the track "Liberal Arts" from Canibus' fourth album "" (2002), Babygrande Records CEO Chuck Wilson raised the possibility of Stoupe producing an album. Before enlisting in the U.S. Army, Canibus recorded his vocals before any production, and then sent the a cappellas to Stoupe.Joel & Andy. [http://www.artofrhyme.com/interviews/artist/Canibus/28/ Art of Rhyme - Canibus Interview] . Art of Rhyme. Accessed February 6 2008.] [ [http://www.babygrande.com/archived_site/news.jsp Canibus' "Rip the Jacker" in Stores Now!] . Babygrande Records. Accessed February 21 2008.] He claimed that he wrote the lyrics on a "stained dinner table in Hell's Kitchen".Jean, Angelo (April 8 2005). [http://allhiphop.com/stories/features/archive/2005/04/08/18133195.aspx Canibus: The Invisible Man] . AllHipHop. Accessed March 2 2008.] In 2003, Canibus stated the album consisted of his most complex rhymes to date [Paine (July 15 2003). [http://allhiphop.com/stories/features/archive/2003/07/15/18132822.aspx Canibus: A Soldier's Story] . AllHipHop. Accessed March 2 2008.] and it "describes our civilization through the eyes of a modern day lyricist/poet". [Wagenius, Emil (September 23 2003). [http://web.archive.org/web/20031205234525/www.trueballers.net/interviews-canibus.php Canibus Interview] . TrueBallers.net. Accessed April 12 2008.] Due to his military obligations, he did not hear the songs in the final format until a week after the album's release when he purchased a copy at Best Buy. Although he released future albums, "Rip the Jacker" was intended to be his last. As a concept album, the record represents the third "personality" of the rapper: "Prof. Emeritus Rip The Jacker", the others being "Dr. PhD Canibus" and "Germaine Williams" (his real name).Joel & Andy. [http://www.artofrhyme.com/interviews/artist/Canibus/28/ Art of Rhyme - Canibus Interview] . Art of Rhyme. Accessed February 6 2008.] [Brown, Chris (November 19 2002). [http://allhiphop.com/stories/features/archive/2002/11/19/18132708.aspx Canibus: Fire Starter] . AllHipHop. Accessed February 24 2008.] Canibus explained the alter-egos: quote|Germaine created Canibus and Canibus had to deal with things in the industry that he had no idea existed. I didn't know that the competition was unfair, that the competitive nature of the music was cut-throat. Then when I had the chance to experience that, Canibus had to create another level. Rip the Jacker is like a foot side of Jack the Ripper". [Rivera, Zayda (December 2 2005). [http://www.sohh.com/articles/article.php/7955 SOHH Where Have You Been?: Canibus] . SOHH. Accessed April 3 2008.]

Music

Produced by Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind, the album frequently samples golden age hip hop tracks. Canibus is characterized for his "deep vocabulary, scientific concepts, battle rhymes and descriptive imagery" throughout the album. "Stylus Magazine"'s Kilian Murphy writes that: quote|The entire English language is seemingly contained in [Canibus'] mind: the sheer volume and variety on each track is astounding. He has word after word lined up in his head, bursting to be articulated. So he deletes and re-arranges until they are moulded into a savage, scholarly verbal assault... He consistently spits rhymes out with manic fury, but rarely alters the texture of his voice, takes care to emphasize individual words or alter pronunciations for effect.

Reception

The album received generally favorable reviews. C. Brown of AllHipHop.com wrote that Canibus provides "incredibly sharp lyricism" and has adopted a more technical approach to his rhyming since the 1990s. Allmusic's Andy Kellman considers the album to have the "best set of productions Canibus has had to work with". However, Kellman stated that the rapper's voice—described as a "grimacing monotone"—to be a "drone with extended exposure". HipHopDX called "Rip the Jacker" Canibus' best album and praised the "lyrical dexterity" which can be "matched by very few". "Entertainment Weekly"'s Jonah Weiner describes the rhymes as "high-flown and delivered with gruff scorn -- but inane". "URB" magazine writer Steve Juon of RapReviews.com ranked it the best album of 2003 [Juon, Steve 'Flash' (December 31 2003). [http://www.rapreviews.com/year/year2003.html RapReviews.com Year 2003 in Review] . RapReviews. Accessed February 28 2008.] and said it may be Canibus' "first album of perfection".

Kilian Murphy of "Stylus Magazine" praised the record for its "pleasing level of instrumental detail and liquidity", but stated that Canibus "lacks the elements of showmanship and subtlety that would make him palatable to a wider audience". Nathan Rabin of "The A.V. Club" wrote that Canibus "sounds like a kid who spends his free time reading the dictionary" and that the album is his "strongest, most consistent work to date. A shameless name-dropper, he references Noam Chomsky, Joseph Heller, Niels Bohr, and David Hume in his dense, challenging rhymes". Samuel Chesneau of "The Stranger" called it "easily his best album" which "incorporates a much different sound and a real gothic feel". [Chesneau, Samuel L. (August 14–August 20 2003). [http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=15289 The Hiphop Tip] . "The Stranger". Accessed April 14 2008.]

Track listing

All songs written by Canibus and produced by Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind.

Personnel

Information taken from Allmusic. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:hxfpxquald6e~T2 allmusic ((( Rip the Jacker > Credits )))] . Allmusic. Accessed February 21 2008.]
*Executive producer – Louis Lombard III, Chuck Wilson
*Design – Jeff Chenault
*Mixing – Chris Conway
*Photography – Steve Gilbert
*Production coordination – Charles "Chase" Jones
*Mastering – Emily Lazar, Sarah Register
*Art direction – Luminati
*Marketing – Jesse Stone
*Vocal engineer – Todd Watson

References

External links

*myspace|canibus|Canibus