I’ll give you one guess as to what the Sound Providers do. That’s right, the two man team from San Diego are producers, beatmakers, soundbwoys, beatsmiths, etc, etc. Jason Skills & Soulo first made some noise when the indy 12″ scene was unsaturated and their jazz-infused hip-hop was immediately acclaimed. Signing with the always reputable ABB in 1998, it took a few years to prepare this special evening, but it was worth the wait.
The intro puts you live in the club, probably a small, smokey jazz club full of bohemians, head-wrap chicks, college students, backpackers, regular-ass dudes and maybe even a thug or two. While their jazzy loops and funky grooves will be praised without hesitation by the native tongue, okayplayer aficionados, the Sound Providers make the kind of music that fans from any sub-category of hip-hop will have a hard time fronting on. This evening with the Sound Providers starts off with a “Live At The Spot” interlude that run throughout the album; setting up night with preludes of features to come. In the meantime, some special guests have snuck in the backdoor to support the SP’s with their talents and contribute to the show. “For Old Time’s Sake” really gets things started as Asheru sounds right at home over the airy flutes and xylophones. Bearing a live aesthetic that The Procussions rocked on their debut this past year, the Colorado trio continued to impress in “5 Minutes.” Wee Bee Foolish even come out of hiding to bless the jazzy vibes of “It’s Gonna Bee Alright.” As always Little Brother effortlessly shines while “Braggin & Boastin,” but it is the lesser known Masypke who drop the true gem here with “The Throwback.”
In between the guest appearances we are treated to various instrumental offerings. While they are certainly banging for the most part (“The Prodigal Return,” “Autumns Evening Breeze,” “Jazz At The Cove”), there are times when they should’ve been shortened up to act more as an interlude (“Night Steps,” “Only Moments Ago”). It isn’t that these tracks aren’t hitting, but they just get a bit redundant when they run too long.
Without a strong buzz to their name this album will likely fly under the radar of many whom it would appeal to, and that is why I write these reviews. In an era where the aging hip-hop generation is fiending for that true-school sound and groups of youngsters are getting tired of the fast food music on the radio, The Sound Providers will give them an evening to remember.
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