Underground Spiritual Game (Mixed By Chief Xcel) - Fela Kuti

Advantages: Great triple CD
Disadvantages: None

...jazz style horns. There's Chief Udoh Essiet whose style reminds me of the best of blues, with a fantastic horn section that could blow even the great horn sections of the past into a cocked hat. His song they Must Go also brings in elements of African gospel singing. And some cool funky guitar, too! And there's Peter King, whose Watusi is the epitome of cross cultural genius, with laid back jazz grooves that would stand up against any of the jazz greats of the past 40 years. Maybe more. Next up is something by Femi Kuti, Truth Don Die. Femi is the son of Fela Kuti, and is no mean musician himself. Funky, groovy, and eminently danceable. Next is Salif Keita, whose track Madan (Laid remix) is a splendid working of modern style with traditional African music and singing. Next up is Witchcraft, another song by Fela Kuti, making excellent... Read review

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Advantages: Brilliant lyrics, relaxing, takes you back to the roots of Hip Hop, Inspirational piece of work!!
Disadvantages: mmmmm.......

..., Relativity. 1997's One Day It'll All Make Sense boasted guest appearances by Lauryn Hill, Q-Tip, De La Soul, Erykah Badu, Cee-Lo, and the Roots' Black Thought and epitomized the movement of "intelligent hip-hop" that saw its peak around that time. Known as the most well-known underground rapper, Common signed a major record with MCA. 2000's Like Water for Chocolate featured production by Roots drummer ?uestlove and, because of more extensive marketing resources, introduced Common to the mainstream. The album was a huge critical and commercial success and featured the Grammy-nominated "The Light." Guests included Macy Gray, MC Lyte, Cee-Lo, Mos Def, D'Angelo, jazz trumpeter Roy Hargrove, and international star Femi Kuti (on a tribute to his legendary father Fela Kuti). Common followed up with a well-received guest appearance on Mary J. Blige... Read review

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Advantages: Intelligent and Poetic Lyrics, Deep Production, Creativity, Variety, Guest Appearances
Disadvantages: A Few Less than Excellent Tracks

...Common is one of those artists that you just cannot stop respecting. Every single thing Common, formerly Common Sense, touches turns into classic. From his unknown underground debut Can i Borrow a Dollar, to his back to back pure classics Ressurection and One Day It'll All Make Sense, so his countless guest appearances, he has earned the title of being one of the most poetic, creative, and thoughtful artists in music, not just Hip Hop. Usually, Common's raps come in million forms, from fly love songs, to narrations about life, to his thoughts, to introspection, to storytelling, to old-school battle raps. Common can do it all, and has proven it to us time and time again. Common's complete cross-over into the mainstream was with 1999's Like Water for Chocolate. Common had a #1 hit single, but still didn't sell out whatsoever, and continued... Read review

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