The people of America are angry. A handful of very wealthy, corrupt business interests exploited their political connections to con the citizens of the United States out of billions of dollars. Even though our taxes bailed them out, the healthy economy we were supposed to get for our investment never materialized due to the cabal of wealthy politicians who continue to benefit both politically and financially by aiding in America's economic disintegration.
It's a great album, but not a very nice way to treat the nation.
U.S. citizens have taken to the streets, and bogus "economic advisers" like Herman Cain, Paul Singer and any talking head the Fox News Channel can summon are doing their best to paint the crowds of people demonstrating against criminal greed in American politics as some sort of violent, fifth column terrorist threat.
"I've arranged this press conference for
the purposes of informing you all that
I do indeed drink the warm blood of babies.
Cute ones."
The founding fathers of our country had seen similar problems plague Europe during their own time, and commented on the sinister harm private interests like corrupt banking corporations could do to the well-being of the United States of America.
If it had been up to Wall Street, the Declaration of Independence
would have had a 32% APR.
In 1802 Thomas Jefferson wrote, “If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them, will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”
"If I were alive, Chase, I'd challenge you to a duel!"
John Adams didn't like banks either, and said, “Banks have done more injury to the religion, morality, tranquility, prosperity, and even wealth of the nation than they can have done or ever will do good.”
You have to admit, this guy looks about as Caucasian as it gets.
Lie, Cheat & Steal by Us3 highlights this sentiment with lyrics that illustrate the hypocrisy and careless criminal behavior which helped put the economy in the biggest ditch since the Great Depression.
Us3 is a band produced by Goeff Wilkinson that fuses hip-hop and jazz in conjunction with original samples from Blue Note Records and the skills of talented musicians like DJ First Rate.
Wilkinson isn't afraid to go on the record as he describes his latest production:
“I’ve become increasingly disillusioned by the people we, as children, are traditionally brought up to look up to. Politicians, police, business leaders, sportsmen, religious leaders, etc all seem to be up to their eyeballs in corrupt practices. The gap between the haves and the have-nots is widening at an increasing pace. Is this what a democracy should look like, where it’s ok to lie, cheat & steal your way to the top?”
Wilkinson has not only enlisted Oveous Maximus to provide lyrical support for Lie, Cheat & Steal, he's also brought on Akala, a UK super talent who won the Music of Black Origin Awards in 2005 for "Best Hip-Hop Artist." He's put out three albums, including 2010's DoubleThink, and has performed in Vietnam, Africa and Brazil.
Lie, Cheat & Steal is not just a solid hip-hop album featuring two lyricists who are at the top of their game, it's a series of devastating jackhammer blows to an economic power structure that has been kicking in our collective faces for the past decade.
Wilkinson's use of authentic jazz recordings by original American artists going back past the 1950's, courtesy of Blue Note Records, is what gives Us3 the signature sound the band has cultivated since their first EP, 1993's Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia).
The brilliance of these melodies has not faded with the decades, and he incorporates that brilliance into his arrangements, combining all that jazz with the best lyrical ability Wilkinson can find. The results play for themselves, and Us3's Lie, Cheat & Steal is a good album to inspire any fan, political dissident or otherwise.
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