:: Guru - Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 4: The Hip-Hop Jazz Messenger - Back to the Future

Guru

Hip-Hop legend Guru is back with the fourth instalment of his equally illustrious Jazzmatazz series, which in the last three albums produced a thrilling fusion of classic hip-hop and soulful jazz. In part four, labelled ‘The Hip-Hop Jazz Messenger’, Guru enlists the services of New York beat-smith Solar who produced the whole album. While this pairing worked in Guru’s previous gritty ‘Street Scriptures’, the results here can be considered as nothing but patchy. Reason being is this album does not really live up to its name. Gone are the live instrumentations delivered by jazz masters such as Roy Ayres, Branford Marsalis and Lonnie Lyston Smith to be replaced by an ultra-slick production that is more suitable to an R&B record than one that offers itself as jazz. The album’s guest stars, of which there are many, such as Bobby Valentino and Raheem DeVaughn essentially delivery R&B vocal hooks over numerous staid musical productions. But these contributions from guest stars is not all bad, fellow New Yorker Kem delivers a tantalising chorus in ‘Connections’ and rising Aussie star (and recent Sony America signing) Shelley Harland does a great turn in ‘Follow the Signs’.

Guru’s intelligent and braggadocios rapping style, his signature for the last two decades, is on point as always but sometimes he seems overwhelmed by the too many guest stars used in the album. But the man can still pack a great lyrical punch when given the space. In ‘Kissed the World’, Guru drops his ‘ladies man’ routine and steps into the role of street reporter, where he is at is most penetrating. Jazzmattazz 4: The Hip-Hop Jazz Messenger is not a bad album, but it’s not what it says on the sticker. If you are keen for some good R&B tunes this one will fit the bill nicely. But for those still wanting to listen to the great potential that jazz infused hip-hop presents, Volume 1 of this series remains the reference point.