One of the strongest -- and most unjustly neglected -- rap releases of 1991 was 2 Black 2 Strong's
Doin' Hard Time on Planet Earth. Though the Harlem MC can be excessively strident and overly inflammatory at times, the album is a riveting, gutsy work that makes its share of highly valid points when addressing social and political issues. "Skulls" decries the crack epidemic with frightening accuracy, while "War on Drugs" asserts that the civil-rights violations occurring in response to the plague are as bad as the plague itself. "Iceman Cometh" tends to unfairly generalize about law enforcement, although its point about excessive force is well taken. Unfortunately, as the '90s progressed, 2 Black 2 Strong remained undeservedly obscure. ~ Alex Henderson