js
Miles could have made the ultimate psychedelic trippy instrumental hip-hop album, and a lot of us were waiting for him to do just that but instead, soon after he died, we got this. This album has always sounded incomplete to me, a work in progress, hurriedly released in an attempt to bring in a few more dollars by slangin Miles name one more time. This was supposed to be Miles' attempt to capture the street sounds of NYC in the early 90s, and he brought in Easy Mo Bee, one of New York's top rap producers to help him achieve just that. I don't think Miles' style of trumpet playing really matches these sort of raw stark productions. Personally I think someone like Bill Laswell, with his modern dubbish post-psychedelic approach could have done a better job of bringing Miles quirky trumpet playing into the age of sample and loop rhythms. Most of these songs feature a basic looped rhythm on top of which Miles plays a melody of sorts and then improvises on that melody. These songs aren't complicated, nor are they very well developed, but to their credit many of the looped grooves are quite good. What is lacking though is the presence of some other soloists, as well as some sort of song like development. There are also some less than stellar vocal performances on three tracks. Poetry set to a beat can be as interesting as any other form of music, but the 'raps' on here are nothing special, and already sounded out of date before the album was released.
In small doses this can be a fun record and can sound great in an acid jazz mix or part of a DJ set, but it is frustrating knowing that Miles could have done much better.