Ming & FS: Back to One : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

New York duo Ming + FS have fashioned a reputation as remixers deluxe for their work with everyone from Ashanti and P. Diddy to Suzanne Vega and Lynyrd Skynyrd, but the pair is just as comfortable and skilled crafting their own tunes. Back to One, their fourth album, deftly mixes slick jungle beats and sinewy bass lines with street toughness that would make the Warriors proud. The album opens with the intoxicating urban ambience of the keyboard-laden "Fish Eyes," then jumps into the low, growling rap of guest Napoleon Maddox, a frequent contributor to the album. The teaming of Ming + FS and Maddox is a formidable one, as evidenced as well on the dexterous wordplay of the gritty trip-hop track "Slang Verbs" and the rising tension of the nimble "Skills and Grace" -- a combination Ming + FS have in abundance.