Da Beatminerz: Brace 4 Impak : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The debut album from this East Coast production collective, best known for roughening up the edges of mid-Nineties tracks by Black Moon, Smif-N-Wessun and the rest of the Boot Camp Click, has been a long time coming -- but it was worth the wait. Crew members Evil Dee, Chocolate Ty, Baby Paul, Rich Black and Mr. Walt mine Gotham's inner circles for guests like Heather B and Freddie Foxx -- who pair up for "How We Ride," a head-nodding underground stomper that only an inner city kid could relate to. The Big Apple natives also rope in across-the-Hudson neighbors Naughty by Nature, who give an anthemic boost to "Thug Love". Talib Kweli, Black Moon, Cocoa Brovaz and even Diamond D all turn in excellent report cards, thanks in large part to the dusty samples rising from deep within Da Beatminerz' crates. Interestingly, the most enjoyable performance comes from outside the hip-hop realm: On "Open," Soul II Soul singer Caron Wheeler sails her soul-piercing vocals alongside Pete Rock's steady emceeing. It's wicked!

MARLON REGIS
(July 30, 2001)