The first of two unjustly swept-to-the-side albums cut by Flavor Unit member Lakim Shabazz and his primary producer, DJ Mark the 45 King -- who featured the young and energetic MC on releases like Master of the Game, Rhythmical Madness, and The 900 Number -- Pure Righteousness is equal parts brash boasting and shouts to the Five Percent Nation of Islam, supported by dusty funk and jazz breaks, a little scratching, and some occasional drum machine-driven boom bap. There's even a hip-house instrumental, Adding On, based around D-Train's You're the One for Me. That one hasn't aged too well, and the album isn't quite a classic, but it is essential for anyone into late-'80s and early-'90s rap that paid serious due to the Five Percent Nation, from Paris' The Devil Made Me Do It to X Clan's To the East, Blackwards. The album is front-loaded with its two best tracks, both lyrically and musically, with Shabazz's voice at its most potent and inciting. And yeah, the second track, Black Is Back, was quite possibly a major inspiration behind the "I'm Black, Y'All" (aka "I'm blackedy black black b-black black, yo, 'cause I'm black and I'm back") spoof in #CB4. Still, it's hard not to get caught in its racing rush of electric piano, Funky Drummer loop, and proud rhymes, which do go well beyond pointing out the color of Shabazz's skin. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi

1		Pure Righteousness
2		Black Is Back
3		All True and Living
4		Adding On
5		First in Existence
6		Sample the Dope Noise
7		The Posse Is Large
8		Don't Try Us
9		Getting Fierce

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