Slam poet shows his hip-hop style

Fresh. That's the first word that comes to mind after listening to Saul Williams' new self-titled album. The slam poet gives us the same intriguing lyrical sets he is famous for, but throw in some smooth jazz riffs and a few edgier hip-hop and rock-inspired beats, and the final product is a professional-sounding album that gets better each time you listen to it.\nAlthough the lyrics may be less profound than a Saul Williams buff might expect, the word arrangements flow so well that even when Williams is speaking his verses in monotone they sound absolutely melodic. \nThe common theme throughout, if there is one, is Williams' plight as a black musician without a true black fan base. From "Talk to Strangers" ("I wasn't raised at gunpoint and I've read too many books") to "Grippo" ("I gave hip-hop to white boys when nobody was looking/ … /White boys listen to white boys/Black boys listen to black boys") to "PG" ("Ain't from the streets of Compton/Ain't from no prison yard/Ain't got no guns or weapons/Hell, nigga, I ain't hard.") \nWilliams remains unapologetic for forgoing the industry standard of a black man becoming a gangsta rapper. Tracks flow from the beginning, as Williams delivers the poetic "Talk to Strangers," over a piano set written by System Of A Down's Serj Tankian, in which he mundanely lays out a two-and-a-half minute intro track setting the listener up for a faster, harder-hitting remainder of the album. \nDon't miss "Act III Scene 2," perhaps the album's most political track, with a chorus by former Rage Against the Machine lead singer Zack de la Rocha. If the lyrics don't grab ("An Afghani in a shanty/Doodle dandy yank on/An Iraqi in Gap khaki/Coca coma come on"), the quick drumline and funkadelic synth will.\nFader Label releases the 12-track Saul Williams September 21.