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RACHID
Pride (Dobieīs Itīs A Thing Mix)
(Universal, Uk)
Rachid (ra-sheed) is a talented 24-year old man, who is trying to find his place in a world marred by conflict. He is struggling with issues of race, religion and identity. Unfortunately it doesnīt come out very well on the debut album Prototype. The music lacks focus and all songs are arranged and structured in a similar vein.

Rachidīs debut album Prototype is in my book a disappointment. Skillfully played instruments, production, production and production until the music on the album all end up as a product, rather than the result of a creative artist.

The only track that stands out on Prototype is Pride, which also was released as a single. Itīs a groovy song that opens with a nice, "romantic", guitar lick and piano. Slow snares and a nice back beat completes an extraordinary good single.

The real piece of art is to be found on the flip side of the single: Dobieīs "Itīs A Thing" Remix of Pride. The London based producer Dobie has given the excellent Pride a huge shot of vitalizing soul!! Itīs cool, itīs funky, itīs hip-hop and itīs outstanding.

DOBIE
The Sound Of Hand Clapping
(Pussyfoot Records)
Dobie is a much acclaimed producer based in London. He has worked with artistīs like Soul II Soul, Tricky, Bjork and Massive Attack. He has now released an album with collaborations with artists from a wealth of rappers and vocalists including Roots Manuva, Rodney P, Raissa, Ninety-9 and Don-E for a soulful musical experience that cuts across genres with dexterity and style.

The first track we heard from the album was the 12" Cloud 98 3/4. A slamming hip hop cut featuring Ninety-9 with enough mixes to keep the most eclectic of heads happy. It had a heavy groove with sweet chords and floor-driven beats that would lift the spirits. Here it closes the album in a stripped and soft remix.

The album opens with echoing piano, synth-chords, bleeps and Roots Manuva in Connectivity... British hip hop at itīs best follows on Basement Rock and further on is a pure soul cut Love Song featuring Helena Paul in a classic soul performance. Three marvelous tracks that opens a album which might very well end up as one of the best albums of 1998.

There's a great tradition of producers who have pushed back the boundaries of black music - from Quincy Jones and through to modern day luminaries such as 4 Hero and Wu Tang there are a few mavericks who can turn their hand to just about anything. Dobie's debut album encompasses the spectrum of black music and it's a testament to the versatility of a producer whose underground profile sharpens his musical endeavors.

Donīt sleep on The Sound Of Hand Clapping.

T-LOVE
Return Of The B-Girl EP
(Pickininny US)
Very, very good - probably one of the ten best hip hop releases this year. One canīt miss this EP in the shops - the cover looks like a rare soul album from the mid seventies, with T-Love taking aim like a sniper.

T-Love first showed up, dropping one verse, on a compilation called Project Blowed a few years ago. After that was her single Iīm Comin, to which a few heads took notice.

Now T-Love drops a six song EP with fresh and gimmick free rhymes. The EP includes guest appearances from some of the dopest names in underground hip-hop, such as Chali 2na of Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli fame on Wanna Beez, Kool Keith on Return of The B-Girl and Siah and Yeshua Da PoED on L.A. To Brooklyn, certifying her place in the independent hip-hop industry.

A Kid Named Miles does a decent production job on this set, especially on From LA To Brooklyn, the EPīs best song, with break beats, twang guitar and a huge bass line. The production is like on the Jurassic 5īs EP - contemporary and yet with a distinct touch of old school style. Respect!

BLACK EYED PEAS
Behind The Front
(Interscope)
This multi-ethnic trio from Los Angeles has been around in the hip-hop industry for years. Now, maybe itīs time for a major break through. They have come up with an album that takes off from were acts like Digable Planets and De La Soul left in the early 1990īs. Behind The Front is like a trip back to a time when postitivity was the word of the day. When easy going and having fun was OK.

There is a lot to like on Behind The Front. It has two of the best dance songs heard this year in Joints & Jam, their song of the Bulworth soundtrack. And it is a floor filler on itīs own merits - Black Eyed Peas doesnīt need a wholesale sell out of some 1980īs hit to make a dance cut. And Clap Your Hands has huge bass line and a sing along chorus. The Latin flawed grooves on Karma and Que Dices? is especially charming - Ozomatli style. On the Digital Underground (circa Kiss You Back) sounding Be Free, BEP grooves on like a house party.

The Black Eyed Peas have live instrumentation, which means that many will be quick to compare them to The Roots. A generalization that shouldnīt be pinned on the group at all. There are a couple of songs that might come off as Roots-influenced, but they donīt really try to touch the Roots steez at all. While their Philadelphia counterparts are a jazz band with MCīs, Black Eyed Peas, on the other hand, blends a vast variety of influences and sounds into a sound and style of their own. The versatility of the crew makes this anything but a boring listen.

The thing about the crew is their amazing adaptability to this wide array of sounds. The Peas are in a class of their own, because they can successfully combine these styles, without being as obvious as other uncreative and failed attempts.

The MCīs Apl De Ap and Taboo are fine in their own right but they're not quite supa emcees yet. They do have character on the mic and donīt seem to have any problems with delivery. Anyway, where the rhyming is lacking, musically they make up for it. Very good music.

IAN POOLEY
The Meridian
(V2)
Pooley is an Englishman living in Germany. He is a influential producer and remixer in the European House and Techno scene. After a string of singles released during the last year, it is now time for his second full length album for V2.

Meridian is an adventure in sounds and beats. Pooleyīs mix of techno and house has an immediate and appealing charm. He has worked with Daft Punk - and some influences from that collaboration can be heard on Meridian, particularly in the joyous and lyrical Cold Wait, which is both subtle enough for the living room and a real dance floor anthem.

Of course, what we have here is more house music than techno and the music builds on groovy, minimalistic beats and windy keyboard chords. Pooley specializes in the joyous, emotive strand of house music that lets the music do all the talking, and it speaks of emotional experience and more to the point - soul. The dubby Floor Face Down sets the pace; heart warming bass, gorgeous Fender Rhodes, and a calm journey around a city tinged with melancholy.