Debut album for the Ghetto Philarmonic, a jazz rap trio formed by Joseph "G-Clef" Cavaseno, Brian "B-Natural" Sledge and Chris "DJ Spinbad" Sullivan. G-Clef deals with alto sax, B-Natural plays trumpet and flugelhorn, both making contributions to rapping, with G-Clef in the role of main rapper. DJ Spinbad is credited with the record scratches. Also collaborate Rafael "The Flux" Tavarez on a couple of rhythms and B. "DJ Slynke" Douglas with scratches on "Buss this". Guests include Black Spic ("Gassmaster", "Black 2 the Flux") and Quayshaun ("Gassmaster"), while Weldon Irvine plays keyboards in "Caucasoid".
The record mixes jazz and hip-hop: it's something that artists have already tried to bring to the hip-hop circuit and also with some success. More than the many East Coast acts that have performed a similar sound, such as the Native Tongues collective groups, Gang Starr, Pete Rock or Large Pro, the Ghetto Philharmonic's attempt comes closest to Guru's experimental debut album, "Jazzmatazz", released in the same period. G-Clef and B-Natural experiment, constantly looking for the right mix of horns and drums, sax and rap, failing to find a consistently good sound during this listening hour. "Rhythm that We Give 'em" is good, with a spot-on mix and confident, smooth rapping delivery from the performers. Afterwards, the quality of the project is lower: the drums are similar, slow and pounding, even the rhythms are similar, and the delivery practically never affects, while maintaining a pleasant regularity. The tape suffers when its hip-hop part prevails over jazz one with cheap inserts ("Sledge"), however, there are also solid moments, with excellent rhythms, good rapping and good jazz elements ("Buss this", "Something 2 Funk About"; the latter has good neo-noir vibes).
At the end of listening my face is practically the one that Christgau goes to place next to the album's voice: not only because listening to the last tracks of the disc (9-10; 12-15) isn't accessible to everyone, but because overall the disc is quite flat. It's an interesting tape for Killa Beez fans and rare diggers of secret and hidden Wu-Tang affiliates, because G-Clef is the founder of Chambermusik, a label that will practically be the home of the Staten Island supergroup affiliates. Perhaps, it's too long and has an excess of tracks with fifteen choices: released between 1993 and 1994 on Tuff City, it's recommended for listeners looking for an album similar to Guru's first "Jazzmatazz".
Rating: 6/10.
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