Okayplayer: True Note 1
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Description
For the first release on the Roots' Okayplayer imprint, ?uestlove ditches his drum kit for A&R duties, whipping together a compilation of tunes by hip-hoppers from their Okayplayer.com web community. High-quality contributions from established artists like Hieroglyphics ("Respect Deez") as well as Okayplayer's online submission contest champs the Chapter and Nicolay & Supastition prove that the groundswell of rap talent lurking below major-label sightlines is real. Little Brother demo their Pete Rock-like soundscapes on "On and On," while the Roots crew offers "Y'all Know Who" with Black Thought blazing through some bruising bass lines. Standing out among the healthy dose of new-school rappers is old schooler Skillz (formerly Mad Skillz), who delivers the most original left-field cut of the lot: "Pastor Skillz," an organ-fuelled fire-and-brimstone parody of a church sermon. On "Keep Livin'," Jean Grae weighs in with her typically wonderful punch-line-heavy raps, spitting over Scarface's "My Block." While True Notes does come with its fair share of filler, it's still a first-rate compilation celebrating a can't-miss movement. --Dalton Higgins
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