of street violence that merely gush blood in other rappers' hands take on a sort of ironic, even tragicomic, inevitability in his. "Jack of Spades" rides a lean, sturdy groove, an insistent, staccato guitar sample that serves as a foreboding undercurrent to Parker's rap about the "only guy that had some heart ... one guy hasn't been paid/He's the jack of spades."

Parker is definitely on the positive-street-philosopher tip, and when BDP launches into "Stop the Violence," the merger of teacher and entertainer is complete. Against a skeletal drums-and-bass backing track, Parker and the audience urge each other on, jumping from didactic, sociopolitical statements to light house-party chants. When the music stops and Parker and the crowd yell, "Stop the violence," there's no doubt that, along with dropping social science, there's a party going on. (RS 607)

STEVEN VOLK