On this date in 1991, Trentonians Wise Intelligent, Culture Freedom and DJ Father Shaheed followed up their debut album Holy Intellect with their sophomore smash Pure Poverty, which was released under Profile Records.
Produced primarily by NJ producer Toney Dofat aka Tony D, the 13 track full length studio effort didn’t receive the mainstream success as did its predecessor, however, marketing dollars for conscious artists became less available for conscious artists and more available for “gangsta rap” artists such as DJ Quik whose debut album Quik Is The Name went gold in four months on the same label.
Sure shot singles from PRT’s second album include “Shakiyla”, an ode to the everyday Black woman, their own rendition of the 5% Nation’s national anthem “The Enlightener”, which they entitled “The Nation’s Anthem” and the mathematically saturated “Methods Of Dropin’ Mental”.
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Salute to Wise, Culture, Tony D and a supreme RIP salute to Father Shaheed, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in 2014 at the age of 45. The Hip Hop world will never forget this timeless gem!