Search - Jneiro Jarel :: Three Piece Puzzle

Just a good dope record!

Zeb91 | Seattle, WA | 04/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Jnerio Jarel? Who that be? This is what I thought when I received this album in the mail to put in rotation at my radio station. Well this kid turns out to be a producer extraordinaire who happens to emcee just a little bit to. As soon as you pop this album in you are welcomed to his world which is just a little different. Presently residing in Philly he has spent much of his life all over the place. Born in Brooklyn, acquiring the art of rhyme in Houston and perfecting it in New York (with stops in many other places in between) Jarel has a wide range of influences that make his album that much more intriguing. With obvious ties to the Philly "Sound" his style is all his own with influences ranging from the Native Tongues to Soul & Jazz, and even to that Madlib funk. Jnerio gives us an album that is both instrumental and rhymed on. Some tracks he delivers that classic soul vibe and he may throw some ad-libs in (and you thought only commercial artists did this!) with a singer such as Vinia Mojica, of Reflection Eternal fame, crooning away like it was a jam session with the around the way band. Or he may just deliver a straight up hip hop cut where he flows to a beat that he cooked up with who knows how many samples layered in. Overall Jnerio delivers an album that is more like an unsolvable puzzle: the combination of styles, samples, and guests will prevent you from ever fully completing it, but they will also leave you no choice but to keep coming back to it."

Too Bad it's got words

C. W. Hall | Atlanta, GA USA | 01/25/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"A gang of people I respect a great deal swear by Jneiro Jarel. I include that disclaimer, because I only partially agree. To review this record, I have to separate Jneiro Jarel the producer from Jneiro Jarel the MC. One is world-class, the other a hair past mediocre. The bad first: "Three Piece Puzzle" is virtually devoid of compelling lyrics and hooks. This is a direct function of Jneiro Jarel's lyrical skill level. There are bright spots on the record (i.e. "It's Like Fire Yo!" or "Doinis") where the vocals find a stride, but more often entry-level lyrics detract from the album's uniformly stellar production.



Fortunately, this is not your standard album. Every song is not centered on two verses and the accompanying hooks. Jarel allocates whole sections of the project to flex his musicality with only the slightest vocal trappings to distract from his mastery on the production side. Examples include "Sun Walkers", where Jarel's lush arrangement sets the stage beautifully for a minimal vocal chant with the combination driving the piece over the top, or "Soul Starr" where the mood altering emotional pull of the instrumental work is allowed to stand on its own.



Concentrating on the songs which focus on traditional hip-hop verses sells this album far too short. Jarel succeeds most when he eschews vocals or when he treats those vocals (in the form of either short bursts or repeated chants) as just another element in the larger production."

Jneiro Jarel!!!!!!!!!

Krazi Duchess | The Keystone State, USA | 08/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is worth every cent!! A couple of the cuts are futuristic...so dope, it turns me on!! Seriously, check out his website (...) and just hear for yourself."