february 27, 2001
currently playing the cd changer in my car
this is jill scott's debut album. she's a singer/songwriter/poet/etc. representin' north philadelphia. she's down with the hip hop group, the roots, and even co-wrote the song, "you got me," which was a modest mainstream hit. i guess if i had to categorize it, it would be "soul meets r&b meets hip hop meets jazz." the thing is, jill scott does it all very well, and the result is what i think is one of the best albums to come out of all those genres in a long time. if you believe the grammy people, i believe she was nominated for "best new artist," or something like that. even without that honor, i would definitely recommend that any music fan check out this album. it's good music, with soulful and heartfelt lyrics; refreshingly original r&b (or hip hop, or soul...you get the picture).
i think jurassic 5 is one of the dopest hip hop acts around today. they get a lot of credit for writing "positive" music (i.e. not about guns, girls, being iced out and bling-blingin, etc.), which many would say is sorely lacking in hip hop. and this is all good, but can they bring it musically, lyrically, stylistically? most definitely. this "underground" hip hop group is made up of four MCs and two djs (yeah, jurassic 5, comprised of 6 people), each with his own sound and style. they might remind you of 'old school' type hip hop, with the MCs feeding off each other in lyrical wordplay then coming together during the hook, while the djs scratch and blend beats and melodies together. this is their second album, and tracks like, "quality control," "lausd," "great expectations," and "jurass finish first" reflect the the fun and creativity that this group's all about. on a side note, jurassic 5 puts on a really good live show. if you've never seen a hip hop show, theirs is the one to see.
i wanted to get this cd after seeing mccoy tyner perform last month at yoshi's in oakland. tyner's a pianist that was part of the john coltrane quartet back in the day. it was an awesome show, and i really wanted to listen to some more of what tyner wrote and performed. the first track on the cd is "passion dance," which is the song he opened with at the show last month. listening to the track, i remembered and pictured tyner and his fellow musicians perform this song, the sounds of each instrument moving here and there and everywhere - dipping and soaring, roaring towards you and tip-toe-ing back - but all sounding just right nevertheless. although i'm pretty much a "baby" jazz fan, i really think the opportunity to see those musicians perform live and in person has made me more appreciative of the things they're able to do as well as the beauty and complexity of the music. i'd definitely recommend this cd to anyone interested in this kind of music, but also to go see a jazz show in person if you ever have that opportunity.
blackalicious is a hip hop duo from the bay area, made up of the mc, the gift of gab, and the dj, chief xcel. these guys produce music that could be placed in the same category as jurassic 5, so called "west coast underground." like jurassic five, creative flow, beats, and lyrics are what's important to blackalicious, which their music reflects well. the gift of gab, in particular, is known for his considerable mic skills, and although he doesn't show it off as much on this album as in the past, tracks like "deception," "do this my way," and "if i may" reflect the group's commitment to intelligent, and often- mind-provoking hip hop. the album features work by their quannum records labelmates, lyrics born, lateef the truth speaker, and dj shadow. this album isn't for everyone, but again, it never hurts to explore! just borrow the cd from me (but be sure to give it back!)...
this is the second album from erykah badu. she released it at the end of last year, but i just bought it last week. i haven't listened to it enough to give you my definitive opinion, but from what i have heard, i can definitely see that she's exploring and expanding her musical boundaries. and i appreciate that. i think a lot of times, artists don't really push themselves to do something new. which isn't necessarily bad (as the saying goes, "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it"), but sometimes can result in a stale, "been there, done that" kind of product. on this album, badu presents lots of different sounds and styles. her singing is what stands out to me; her voice shifts and changes to fit the mood of the song, but always remains full of emotion. i think that's pretty cool! (ha ha...as you can tell by now, i'm not normally a music critic. i usually just say, "yeah, i like that!" or "nah...i'm not feeling that one.")
lest you think that i'm all about r&b, hip hop, and that sort of thang, let me assure you that i listen to some other stuff occasionally. like this album, for instance. i used to listen to U2 when i was younger, and i even saw them in concert at dodger stadium back in 1993, during their zoo tv tour. since then though, i hadn't really kept up with them, but i borrowed this cd from martin, enjoyed it a lot, and decided to purchase it for myself. a lot of the songs remind me of their work during the "achtung baby" period; i don't know much about their albums prior to this one, but i heard that they had gone in different directions. well, in this case, "returning to their roots" (whether an accurate statement or not) works for me. i think they write some really good tunes here with a lot of emotional, meaningful lyrics in the mix - always a good combination. i'm sure you've probably heard, "beautiful day" but check out, "stuck in a moment you can't get out of" and "kite" also.
wow, that took a lot longer than i thought it would. ha ha. well i hope you enjoyed reading about some of the music i like, and in so doing, learned a little bit more about me as well.