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Skippable Is The Word That Comes To Mind (3.5 Stars)

Norfeest | Washington DC USA | 08/28/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is a good album. You've probably heard better work from just about every artist on this album though (with the exception of Skillz, Little Brother, and Nicolay & Supastition). Most of the material comes off as throw away tracks from the artists' albums. Want an example? Just listen to the 5 year old track from The Roots or listen to "Keep Livin" from Jean Grae (which is actually on one of HER albums). And Dilated Peoples are slowly fading off of my radar. If you own a Dilated Peoples LP or single, then you've heard EVERYTHING Evidence has to say because he never improves. The Dilated track could've been left off of the album and no one would've missed it. And I'm not even gonna get into the wackness that Dice Raw (yes, THAT Dice Raw) brought to the table. Remember that dude that ripped "Clones" on the Illadelph Halflife album? Where is he? Anyway....Heiro and Aceyalone & Madlib come through to drop joints that are good, but they don't stand out at all and they come off as skippable joints. There are strong points on the album that outshine the bad things though. Skillz stands out the most because he has two bangers on the album. "Take It Back" is a typical Skillz track, but hot nonetheless. And "Pastor Skillz" (a parody of a church sermon) is just plain sick. Little Brother (you gotta love these cats) drops two joints with "Shake It" being the stronger of the two. But "On & On" is a strong track too. Blackalicious drops a tight joint that shows Gift Of Gab at the top of his game (as usual). Baby Blak has always been a favorite of mine and he drops more heat over an Adam bomb track. Jean Grae also drops two joints, but "Fall Back" is the only one worth talking about because it's a tight joint while the other one isn't. The track that shines the brightest on the album is called "The Williams" which is performed by Nicolay & Supastition. It's not a lyrical masterpiece, but it's a perfect blend of Nicolay's production and Supastition's lyrics. Truck & Mac drop a good joint, but the hook is suspect. The Chapter also drop a hot joint, but it could've been longer. The album ends on a high note as RJD2 blesses the album with more of his genius.



Overall the album is solid, but if the material was as strong as the lineup was it would've been a great album. Too many of the tracks border on average and the fact that there's a 5 year old Roots track (from the 1999 movie soundtrack "The Wood") really hurts things. As a Roots junkie, I'll buy just about anything with their name on it, so I was expecting some new material. So as you can imagine, I was a little irked when I heard it. I love everything The Roots do and I want to support Okayplayer in any way possible, but I would reccomend that you listen to it before you buy it. There are some gems on the album that make it worth the money, but a large portion of it is skippable. Proceed with caution.



Standout Tracks: On And On, Pastor Skillz, The Williams (My Favorite), K.O. Player, Take It Back, Shake It, Act 2, & Just What Can Happen"

This Review's For The Newbie White Boys Like Me

koreaman | decatur illinois | 09/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm a 36-year-old suburban white boy music fanatic beginning to explore the world of hip hop about 30 years late -- dating from '74 around the time of P-Funk and Earth Wind and Fire, the Ohio Players, Kool and The Gang and (well, a bit later) Grandmaster Flash. For me, an inveterate seeker of the compilation most proud of my Oxford Americans, I look at comps as road maps , not destinations. A good comp'll have, say, 20 artists. Five will turn up to be actually worth seeking out immediately.



So I admit the 19 tracks on Okayplayer True Notes mostly ALL sound, well, refreshing to me in this rock and roll season of whiney emo and processed lunch meat punk rock that regularly vomits forth from MTV. After several hungry listens I find myself:



really loving that piano snippet on Jean Grae's "Keep Livin'" and straight up I will be seeking her. Love the song. She's got kinduva hip hop Aretha thing going on



Nicolay and Supastition's got the insanely catchy "The Williams" and they too are on my radar, but not as highly sought after as Jean Grae.



Truck and Mac: Disposable novelty.



Skillz: "Pastor Skillz" -- kinduva one note joke song filled with references to other artists who are probably better. But his other offering on this comp "Take It Back" is much stronger.



?uestlove. Now I do know about the Roots and ?uestlove's strong critical and commercial rep. But Intro annoys me -- just something in the flow and the dynamic. It lurches along. And Outro is just an instrumental track repeating Intro. Flush it.



Little Brother: On and On -- now THAT's what I like. Got a bit of soul a bit of nice laid back rhythm. Sweet and lazy chorus and I'm talking Sittin' On The Dock Of The Bay lazy sweet. A classic to these newbie ears.



Nicolay and Supastition: The Williams -- hey man ain't we all been there "the bill collectors call me by my nickname" Straight up cry of frustration that's still just so catchy and smooth.



So in my estimate the 15.99's well spent because it puts me on the road to wanting to find out more about the new good artists. Jean Grae, look out. I've already got my Lauryn, my Alicia, my Aretha, and my Mary J. Be prepared to step up! Dittos for all the other good ones here. I don't make life easy for you once I think your good."

Pretty Good... Not what I expected

Justin Smith | Oakland, CA United States | 12/31/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Seeing the Okayplayer label made my heart skip a beat. "An album masterminded by ?uestlove? A lineup including Hiero, LB GoG AND the Roots!?" After listening to it, I came out satisfied, but not amazed as I expected. While the tracks by the aformentioned artists as well as the madlib produced second track and RJD2's instrumental are superb a lot were skippable including the old Roots track. Still worth buying."