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Baby J - Baby Food
Nearly a decade after the release of his album The Birth, underground super-producer Baby J returns with a full length artist album that shows he is without doubt one of the leading lights in the UK hip-hop scene and is ready to emerge from the underground given the chance.
He’s known for his mixtapes of course and FTP garnered him awards and rave reviews beyond his dreams, he has of course also been busy on the remix front, his remix of Valerie by Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson was a massive success that fired the first arrow into mainstream battle.
Baby Food isn’t a sell out record though, in fact the tone of it isn’t bouncy happy go lucky hip hop or blinged up gangsta rap, instead it’s a fairly morose take on the World we currently live in, set to some brilliant tracks that unusually for hip-hop don’t feature any samples. Instead, it proudly boasts live instrumentation, superb beats and enough hooks to hang Katy Perry’s awards ceremony wardrobe changes on.
The first track I heard from the album was the recent single Ruffneck Set The Trend, a song I’m convinced would have been a huge hit if given a wider release (lets be thankful it’s our little secret shall we), it still sounds as fresh hearing it now and it fits beautifully onto the album.
Baby J is of course a shining light bulb to the moth like talent in the UK hip-hop and R ‘n’ B scene, so it’s no surprise that he can pull in a stellar cast of players to give variation to the tracks, choosing the appropriate vocalist for the tracks like Imelda Marcos chooses shoes to match an outfit.
Of the collaborations the biggest surprise is probably on Lies, where Asher D turns in a good performance (no really he does) and is ably backed up by the more soulful Nathan, to create a breezy track, that still has bite.
- Baby J
- Baby Food (2008)
- Category: Album
- Label: Abstract Urban Records
- Reviewed by: Kev
- Published on: 17 Nov 2008
- Comments: 0
- Beat Surrender Rating:
Weblinks
Add to favouritesChildren Of The Hungry is equally surprising after the first two tracks as it takes on an almost calypso feel, It’s Time starts with a warm yet hazy vocal that is sung not rapped, accompanied by acoustic guitar it comes out of the blue but is a really clever twist. Eventually it settles down into a more standard hip-hop track, but it’s these little quirks and surprises that really steal the show for me.
What a show it is as well, from the more soulful I’m In Love, to the dramatic No One Like U, to the maudlin opening of Love And Peace that tries to see things from the point of view of the disaffected youth of today, it’s just an absolute pleasure throughout.
Will it be a huge commercial success, no of course it won’t because it’s way too cool for that, it just reaffirms what a superb talent Baby J really is and that is good enough for me, long may his underground success continue.
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