Rahzel

Editor's Review:

Rahzel, The Godfather of Noise, as he is known in hip-hop circles, is a core member of The Roots crew, possibly one of the only original hip-hop acts in the mainstream of the genre today. As a beatboxer-an artist who can make bass, drum, scratch and melody sounds simultaneously with his voice-Rahzel is know the world over as the best, and his live appearances battling DJs are the stuff legends are made of.

On this, the first solo release from this vocal virtuoso, it is unfortunate to find that his main talent is wasted as merely an added, quirky little feature on the record. Perhaps Rahzel wants to branch out, doesn't want to stick to beatboxing, but he should have. Though his voice is out of this world for sound effects, he is not the tightest rapper, nor does he have the freshest flow. That's not to say that his rhyming skills are below par, but this cat is definitely more of a rapper than an actual MC. The real MCing on MTM 2000 comes from guests like Slick Rick and Q-Tip, and the real musical treat here comes from the trumpet of Branford Marsalis, as he and Rahzel battle back and forth on the track, "Steal My Soul."

That is where this album should have gone from day one: Rahzel should have stuck to beatboxing, pitting his skills against DJs and other instrumentalists and backing guest vocalists. Instead, the sessions that make believers in the man's beatboxing ability are the gags between tunes, and that just seems like a waste of a lost talent.

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Record Label MCA Released April 2001

Tracks The Human Beatbox (Interlude) Make The Music 2000 Super Dee Jay (Interlude) All I Know Carbon Copy (I Can't Stop) I Know What Your Sayin (Interlude) Night Riders Just The Beggining (Interlude) Bubblin' Bubblin' (Pina Colada) To The Beat Wu Tang Live Medley Steal My Soul For The Ladies Suga Sista Southern Girl If Your Mother Only Knew (Interlude)