Alexipharmic's American Beauty

Born and raised in Port Angeles, Washington before moving to the other Angeles of Los, Alexipharmic immersed himself in the world of hip hop via YO! MTV Raps and cassettes of 2Pac, Nas, and Biggie before picking up the pen at 13 and working to forge his own path. From that start Alexi moved on, grew up, took part in slam poetry showcases and then progressed to performing on the same stage with all sorts of hip hop luminaries and even spearheaded the national Save Darfur Tour. With all that under his belt it only seemed appropriate that he take the time to focus on making his label debut and make it he did. Named American Beauty the record is an ambitious step forward for this hip hop star in the making.

Written while Alexipharmic was traveling across the country on a 10000 mile road trip American Beauty is a reflection of his experience on the road. Armed with a digital voice recorder he interviewed all sorts of people who he would later use on the record to help him weave his rhymes into a sort of political reflection of the American climate and how he views our society. Is it pretty? Not really, but it is earthy and real and that's what makes Alexipharmic's rhymes so good. American Beautyisn't a glitzy show off sort of affair, it's a gritty hard look at the American landscape from a guy that unabashedly loves this place and knows that it can be better. Alexipharmic is wise beyond his years and while he uses hip hop as the form to express his opinion he's so good at what he does that you'll wish that more hip hop stars would take things this seriously. When he says, "Don't let anybody tell you you're unpatriotic if you question your country, true patriotism lies in the desire to see the country improve," he shows his intelligence and eloquence all the while rhyming this over beats that simply don't stop. Whether he's on about sex, beauty, or life in general Alexipharmic drops rhymes that are loaded with cleverness, subtlety and beats that are crisp and flow with his stream of consciousness. Truth be told, American Beauty is pretty great stuff that will make you think as you bob along.

As if to make a point, Alexpharmic's desire to constantly contribute to charities and make people more aware has led him to partner with Feed the Children. In fact, on his upcoming tour this fall Alexipharmic plans to donate 100% of the tour's net proceeds to combat child hunger and homelessness in America. This is a guy that clearly loves America, all that it stands for and want's it to be better. His album American Beauty is a reflection of those desires and the tough times that we're all facing right now. It's because of that rawness and grittiness that American Beauty is a thought provokingly good record. If you like your hip hop with a high dose of intelligence than American Beauty is a watershed sort of album.