Search - Gumbo :: Droppin Soulful H20 on the Fiber

Underrated classic

Andre M. | Mt. Pleasant, SC United States | 08/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was probably one of the few who bought this when it first came out.



This is the kind of jazz and soul inspired musically laid back, lyrically clever, sensible but not overtly heavy handed conscious hip hop of the Digable Planets/Arrested Development/Daisy Age school that was sadly overwhelmed by the ignorant and misogynistic gangster garbage that unfortuantely became more popular among the youth.



I bought this when it came out while I was in Grad school (1993), and as I lied on my studio apartment mattress as it blared on my CD player, "Feelin' Free" just BLEW ME AWAY and I had to call my friends to say "Y'all have GOT to hear this!"



"I Know You're A Virgin" is a VERY clever and tasteful double entendre about a wise young man who tries to initiate his girlfriend to think more deeply about the world. The refrain "I Know, I know, I know" does a good job of punctuating the tune without being annoying.



"Basement Music" tells a lot of what the group's mission statement is all about. Any rappers with the taste to sample Jr. Walker and the All Stars ( in the case, "I Don't Need No Reason" form JW&TAS' 1973 "Peace and Understanding Is Hard to Find" Lp) gets big ups in my book.



As a whole, this is a fine example of hip hop's "path not taken," how this genre could have easily been a force of unity and good will (as was the Soul Music of bygone years) as opposed to the detrimental trash it has become."