Music The Light

The rap nerds here at Complex HQ have been stuck in the darkness since the end of the Rawkus heyday'seven years to be exact. Today, we crawled out from under our Jansports with an invite to SRC/Universal's Manhattan offices for an exclusive preview of Pharaohe Monch's new album, Desire. Joined by label CEO Steve Rifkind, we got goose bumps listening to Pharaohe's self-produced single, “Push,” on which Monch raps and sings about the blue-collar struggle. There is more harmonizing than one might expect throughout Desire, but longtime fans need not worry'the Pharoahe hasn't gone Lauryn Hill on us. Monch is in top form on “Gun Draws,” which is topically reminiscent of the Organized Konfusion classic “Stray Bullet,” and the Alchemist-produced title cut. Come November, we'll all see the light again.