Multi-racial rappers hailing from Seattle, Prose and Concepts are unsurprisingly steeped in the East Coast sound. Rough funk and heavy beats are overlaid with aggressive boasts and records being cut back and forth - something which has almost become a forgotten art in these days of smooth g-funk. In fact, the stand-out here by a mile is the instrumental "Roll Call on the 1 and 2s" which contains some of the best turntable skills displayed this side of 1990.
The rest of the album is good. Just....good. Everything here is competent - the lyrics, the vocal skills, the beats, the choice of samples....it's an enjoyable journey without ever throwing up any real sparks of originality or posessing the overwhelming amount of style needed to make this stuff sound really fresh as we enter the last half of the decade.
At best, little hints of jazz serve to remind you of Souls of Mischief but thats as close to 1995 as it gets. A nice album but ultimately going nowhere.
- Martin Bate
