C-Murder has, at least on a couple of occasions, been characterised as not much more than a Tupac impersonator, which has always struck me as a little unfair. Shakur's influence is undeniable and can be heard on certain tracks, but there's more to this guy's delivery, even if they share thematic common ground for reasons which should be fucking obvious. C-Murder's monologues lack the raucous celebration heard on much of Tupac's material, sounding positively introverted by comparison - a man on the edge mumbling and agonising to himself. It's intense, almost hard to listen to, and not actually like the work of any other rap artist that I can think of, once you listen closely.
Another thing which strikes me as a little unfair is C-Murder having been a resident of the stripey hole for a period now approaching two decades, following his supposed shooting of Steve Thomas in January, 2002. I'm no lawyer, but the case looks kind of patchy from over here, and it's possibly worth remembering that the American legal system often seems to have some difficulty telling the difference between actual use of firearms in murder cases and black men who rap about the same; but who the fuck knows?
C-Murder had issued four albums prior to incarceration, five if you include Tru Dawgs - although it's sort of a compilation - but not one which ever seemed quite so great as it probably should have been. Bossalinie from 1999 came pretty close to perfect but just wasn't quite there - way too many tracks, too many creaking skits, the usual trouble. Trapped in Crime could have learned something from previous mistakes but was ultimately hamstrung by the crisis of confidence which had seemingly overwhelmed the label, resulting in beats which aspired to snatch the crown back from that other New Orleans label by approximating what Mannie Fresh had been doing, while turning away from the producers who made No Limit great in the first place. So Truest Shit was his fifth album - sixth if we're counting Tru Dawgs - vocals recorded by his lawyer during visiting hours, then presumably striped onto the tracks after the fact.
I guess the sudden introduction of porridge to the artistic equation serves as one hell of a focus, because never even mind just great in context of the C-Murder back catalogue, The Truest Shit I Ever Said is a landmark rap album - intense as fuck but as ever kept in check by C-Murder's somber, contemplative delivery, and matched to the perfect range of beats - sharp, electronic and yet powerfully soulful. Even in tearing the club up, even during seemingly unapologetic tales of gunplay*, this is an album written by a man who has had a lot of time to think about this stuff, and his testimony is as powerful as you might hope.
Of course, it turns out he's released five more since this one, all vocalised from with the Louisiana State Penitentiary, which I've somehow missed because I've had a musically confusing decade. On the other hand, I make no claims towards being a rolling news service or having a finger on any particular pulse, so please feel free to use the above information as you see fit.
*: Possibly because he doesn't actually have anything to apologise for.
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