El-P - Cancer4Cure

"Producer, label CEO, and rapper" is how you normally list El-P's credentials, and while those dense, fascinating, and funky beats he creates keep that “p” word in the lead-off spot, his 2010 announcement that his Def Jux imprint was going “on hiatus” meant “rapper” moved up a notch. Some would say “own worst enemy” should be worked in there as well, as he seemed more the “spiritual CEO” of the 2010-2012 underground rap explosion, "losing out" on a time where Def Jux had a shot at being Def Jam, and here he is focusing on his wordplay and metaphors while producing killer Killer Mike albums (R.A.P. Music) for other labels. So maybe Cancer4Cure isn't just one of those too-cool, Def Jux-ian titles that rolls off the tongue, but a metaphor for why this vital blast of purpose exists, and why, for artists like El-P, "winning" isn't everything. Support for this comes from an old Groucho Marx quip (“I wouldn't want to be part of any club that would have me”) which becomes a mantra during the s