KILLAH PRIEST “PLANET OF THE GODS” REVIEW

Killah Priest released “Starring King Zohar” two years after “The Psychic World of Walter Reed,” which is likely an alter persona in the vein of Kool Keith. In actuality, “Planet of the Gods” is a Mr. Reed record. Godz Wrath, a Dutch team, managed the production. Only Jordan River Banks from that group seems to be still working as of 2023, which isn’t unexpected given that he is also credited with mixing the album and independently or jointly producing many of these songs, including the bizarrely titled “Golden Pineapple of the Sun.”

Although Reed claims that the rap scene has undergone a seismic revolution, the mysterious rapper hasn’t really altered since his last album. He still conveys his message as if he were a prophet giving a rapt audience a sermon on the mount. Although I’m arrogant enough to think I can grasp most of the references to religion and the end of the world in his lyrics, I still had to search up what Moldavite was.

It’s not strange that Killah Priest would mention a meteor striking Earth in passing. If you’ve followed Priest since “Heavy Mental,” you already know that’s just how he is. If you’re unfamiliar with Mr. Reed, welcome to one of rap’s most unusual orators. His grim, smoky voice gives life to dark bars that deftly transition from rap to spoken word poetry. It scarcely matters which one he’s doing on “Creation of a Super God” because it’s captivating either way.

The mind may develop; never let it stop. The rhymes are will within the cockpit. Lasers turn eagles into starships. Killah Priest is the only emcee that has the ability to speak his vision into existence. It’s challenging to suggest for casual listening even if it’s intriguing to listen to.

Priest is a difficult emcee to get a hold of. He doesn’t provide you with anything that adheres to the rap conventions that define both underground and mainstream hip-hop music.

Who else would release a song like “The Vast Bottomless Sleep Cosmos” where he addresses you as a guest from another world or identify himself as a Wu-Tang time traveler on “PWOWR Glove?” No one. In the best sense, he is in his own lane. I have the same issue with albums like “Planet of the Gods” and “Summer End Cafe”. I want to suggest them to other people, but I know that they won’t be remembered for anything other than their association with the Wu-Tang Clan at this point because the group has been around for so long that their music is now considered “old school.”

Priest was merely a close associate who soon became popular with the audience despite not even being a founding member. For better or worse, I believe that is his whole audience. His distinctive “interdimensional forests” of rap are still being enjoyed by those who first heard him in the 1990s and are still alive today, 25 years later, on songs like “Earth to Walter Reed Come In Please.”

Although I would love to see Killah Priest receive his flowers while he is still alive, I believe that his contributions will be better understood decades or perhaps centuries from now. Walter Reed wouldn’t have it any other way, and I’m not sure this review or any other can change that. Since his earliest days, he has been committed to carving out a route that no one else can (or would) follow. “Planet of the Gods” is one of his most fun inaccessible albums. That contradicts itself. How can something that is out of reach be enjoyed? Simple.

You belong to the very limited and specialized group of rap listeners he is creating this style of music for if you listen to it and decide it’s for you. It’s probably not for you if you enjoy trap rap, AutoTune, drill music, grime, G-Funk, or backpacker rap. But you won’t ever know unless you take a chance and enter his psychological world.