I have to disclaim myself and say upfront that I'm not a true hip-hop head. I came up during the heyday of the Native Tongues era and can recite most of A Tribe Called Quest's "Low End Theory"—that's about all I know about hip-hop. I do know that nowadays, what I liked about Tribe, De la, Digable Planets, etc, was their impeccable ability to bring musicality into hip-hop and to get me boogieing to it. So ten years later, along comes Jneiro Jarel taking me back to my early college days, and getting my head to bob and my trunk to bump like it hasn't since—well, since then.
Jarel respects his roots, fusing jazz, hip-hop, and RnB into seamless concoctions tune after wicked-ass tune on his debut release "Three Piece Puzzle." At the same time, Jarel keeps it all fresh on tracks like the exquisite "Sun Walkers" and the Prince/Outkast-inspired "Black Cinderella" and "Lemme See Yuh!"
Jarel, an accomplished MC and producer, is not a newcomer to music and draws influences from many experiences he's had performing with Special Ed, The Pharcyde, and at Okayplayer's "Black Lily." After participating in the Red Bull Music Academy's session in Cape Town, South Africa, he went on to Philadelphia where he hooked up with King Britt and Rich Medina. Next thing you know, he's working with folks Lizz Fields and Fertile Ground and gaining the blessing of Jazzanova and Gilles Peterson.
Rightfully so. "Three Piece Puzzle" is just a damn great album and makes me smile to know that hip-hop can still be creative, musical, and fun.
