Death of Frequent Flyer

I'll admit it, I'm not too fond of most female rappers. I usually write them off after about one verse. It's not that I'm sexist or anything like that, but most of the time I have trouble relating to their subject matter. It's usually the mainstream rappers like Kim, Fox, Brat, Shawnna, etc... Well, after hearing Psalm One for the first time, I think it's time I rework my theory on female rappers. Her flow is on point, her topics are things I can relate to, and she's hella funny -- basically, you have to respect her talents. Her voice reminds me somewhat of Rah Digga, but with a little less bass. Her topics have more range than just jewels, sex, jerkin' dudes for their cheese, etc... And it's that very reason that I simply can't get enough of bangers like "Rapper Girls" and "Death of Frequent Flyer". She can swing from topic to topic and not miss a beat. She collaborates with Brother Ali on the solid "Standby" and rips the bouncy "Beat The Drum." Even listening to her ride the beat on "The Nine" and "Rap Star" made me crack a smile. I guess what I'm trying to say is females like Psalm One are a rare breath of fresh air. She doesn't even need the "female" qualifier, she's simply a dope emcee. Period.As far as flaws go, there are a few joints that fall under skip material. The production on "Macaroni & Cheese" is forgettable and the disjointed "Mountain High" is pretty boring. Another problem is that the production doesn't shift gears very often. Otherwise, I think the rest of the album is great.The Death Of Frequent Flyer is definitely one of the best releases of 2006. Not only is Psalm One on my short list of tight female rappers, she's on my short list of dope rappers, period. I recommend supporting her by adding this album to your collection. We need her around to show aspiring female rappers how it should be done. I, for one, will definitely be looking to buy her old material as well as any future releases.Standout Tracks: Beat The Drum, The Nine, Let Me Hear, The Living, Sworn Habit, Rapper Girls (My Favorite), Standby feat. Brother Ali, Peanuts, and The Death Of Frequent Flyer feat. Thaione Davis

This is one of the better albums that has come out in quite a while, and unfortunately, there are a few reasons that MOST people will tend to sleep on it. 1. It's not EVER going to be on the radio. 2. It's a female MC 3. She's not all that likely to get a major label deal and/or ever get on the radio than say Yogi Bear, so... They won't be exposed to it.As for me, I found this record because of a couple of reasons. The first is that she was on a track with Casual on his last album (Bitin & Freakin) and ripped up the track so hard I wasn't sure of what I had just heard. The SECOND reason was that the album was put out through Rhymesayers Entertainment and they just don't seem to fail. To inform those who don't know about Rhymesayers, let me give you a little list of their bands: Atmosphere, Blueprint, Soul Position, Brother Ali, MF DOOM, Eyedea & Abilities, Boom Bap Project, both Felt (Slug(atmosphere) & Murs (Living Legends)) albums, as well as some lesser known artists with AWESOME albums, such as Musab, Micronauts & POS.This is your typical Rhymesayers project. The rhymes are fantastic, very "circa 94" feeling, with modern beats that could be used in any era of Hip Hop. Psalm One makes you forget that she's "just" a female mc within about 4 bars, and lets you know that she knows exactly how to rock a mic and that she is an MC to be treated with some friggin respect.My favorite tracks include "Rapper Girls" and "Standbye" (standbye features Brother Ali). The entire album is really good, the only complaint I MIGHT have is that in some ways PsalmOne seems to work harder on her Battle raps than her introspective ones, which is not really a knock, it's more that the songs can get a touch repetitive. But given that this is one of the best albums I have heard from any female MC, I still can't wait to see where she takes it from here.My suggestion is that if you like underground hip hop, if you like hip hop like Atmosphere, Murs, Brother Ali, etc. that you should give this album a chance and you won't be disappointed.

What more can you say about this former chemist turned rapper other than the fact that she can hold her own in a male dominated genre. Death Of Frequent Flyer is exactly what hip hop needed. This LP is filled with a brilliant flow, great beats and quite possibly the best underground label in the genre today. My personal favorite and standout song on the album would have to be Rapper Girls with Psalm One indirectly taking shots at female MC's like Lil Kim, Trina, Shawnna as well as others who use sex instead of raw lyrical talent to sell albums laced over a smoothed out beat...my second favorite would have to be Macaroni and Cheese....the beat on this is just pure gorgeous with a bluesy feel to it over a thumping bass. There were several MC's and producers contributing to this stellar album including Brother Ali(Standby), Thaione Davis(Death Of Frequent Flyer). Psalm One uses her own hometown producer Overflo to contribute the majority of the beats on this album. Atmosphere's own Ant contributes to the beat on Standby, my favorite cut was conjured up by Madd Crates....V-Traxx, Maker and Thaione Davis add their own personal flavor to the rest of this album. Bottom line, this album is a must have for any fan on real lyricism or the Rhymesayers junkie like myself. Add this gem to the collection.