Posted on 04/27/2009
The Management Presents…Radius: Process of Elimination reminds me of the 90’s – not necessarily in sound, but in concept. The 90’s were a turning point; there was a time during this decade before commerce began kicking art’s ass so blatantly. Now artists are left battered and bruised by the sales numbers. Many are afraid to even try anymore, and popular rap music makes this fact painfully obvious. That being said, who’d knowingly choose the losing side?

Radius, apparently. Thankfully. When neither fame nor fortune is the issue, a different breed of rap emerges and true talent is more easily evaluated. The beats got simpler, drums got softer, shit got easy so he started going harder.

“28 Bars Later,” a narrative about the music industry’s lowered standards, is the perfect introduction to P.O.E. It showcases Radius’ storytelling, which in turn mirrors the growing intensity of the beat and makes for one of the strongest tracks on the mixtape/EP.

Radius starts throwing a lot of dirt on “Really Don’t Try,” sounding like someone who is either looking to start a fight, or looking to finish one: “T.I. protégé/ you ain’t got no swag at all/wish that you could ever be compared to one as bad as Nas/though niggas do like you/but you’re Bill Cartwright next to this Michael.”

“Never Had It Better,” is another standout, and listeners can thank B-Stee and Dan Rico for the sounds on this one. The most noticeable blemish on P.O.E. is, “A Star Is Born” – a forced marriage with rap and R&B that lacks any deep connection. No soul and limited dimension.

“Don’t Stop the Fight” and “I Walk Alone,” epitomize the hard rock edge that runs throughout a few tracks. But even with the rock elements, P.O.E. does sound like most “underground” hip-hop albums – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The underground seems to be where most artists are spending their time these days. Hopefully they’re preparing for a rematch.

- Alison Isaac