Slum Village Album: “Fantastic, Vol. 2 [Bonus Tracks]”

You're going to read a lot of reviews about this album that talk about Slum Village's lack of lyrical ability but that the beats are so hot that you should get the album anyway. Only the latter part of that statement is true. I've been listening to hip hop since the seventies, when rappers had to beg djs to get on the mic. When the groove was what it was all about. When the hottest rhymes around were, "hip hop, a hippy to the hippy, say up jumps the boogie..." You get my drift.

Only the trained ear can hear what Slum Village is all about lyrically on this album. SV has discarded the overdone and almost pre-requisite lyrical bravado that began dominating hip hop in 1987 and has brought something more interesting to the table...VIBE!! Today's hip hop fans are so conditioned to judge by lyrical ability that anything different falls short of their expectations.

Let me tell you something, if you like, Low End Theory by ATCQ, you will love this album. The reason I chose Tribe as my example is that, by no means could you call Phife or Q-Tip lyrical geniuses. And no, I won't bother with a comparison between the 2 groups. In my opinion they are both about the same thing...Vibe!!! Why else did Q-Tip use Jay Dee (SV's Producer/Rapper) to produce songs on Tribes last 2 albums as well as almost every song on his solo album?

Slum Village is about vibe. The lyrics match the tracks perfectly. So well do they match in fact, that you couldn't even hear any of your favorite mainstream lyrical gods on any of these tracks. It just wouldn't sound right. Do yourself a favor. Try to put your conditioning away, pop this album in and then try to go a month without listening to it. This, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the top ten hip hop albums of all time. And I say this, having a lot more material to survey than most.

After their first album (which everybody slept on, unfortunately), the Slum comes back HARD with their latest album, a for-sure hip-hop gem, "Fantastic, Vol. 2." Words can't describe how beautiful this album is; Slum is very relaxed, smooth, and come with that mellow hip-hop vibe that ANY hip-hop head can enjoy. This beats 99% of the hip-hop junk out currently (like all of that Cash Money/jigga-jigga/wobble wobble/shimmie-shimmie-cocoa puff garbage). Q-Tip said it best, "I'm gonna leave it in the hands of the Slum now," and he does just that as Jay-Dee, Baatin, and T3 come with almost that exact same vibe as Tribe Called Quest did back in the early 90s. Slum Village is totally unappreciated by music lovers and it's a shame because they're dope. All of the tracks are tight, but the stand-outs are definitely "Climax (Girl Sh-t)," "Fall In Love," "Raise It Up," "Once Upon a Time," and "Players." This is definitely one of the hip-hop gems of 2000, along with Jurassic 5's "Quality Control," Dilated Peoples "The Platform," Common's "Like Water For Chocolate", Bahamadia's "BB Queen," and De La Soul's "Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump."

ive had this album for about a year and everytime i listen to it the cd gets better and better to me jay dilla has fresh and long lasting production which makes the cd a very easy to listen cd and T3 and Batem along with dilla have nice flows over great beats, so if you want some hot real hip hop music pick this one up!!!!!!!!

Having heard Slum Village on Common's CD, it was easy to have high expectations with respect to their own effort. I expected those expectations not to be met. Having listened to Fantastic, Vol. 2, I can state unequivocally that this is the best hip hop album I have ever heard, and one the best albums as a whole that I have had the pleasure of buying. By now we all know how tight JayDee is as a producer. His rhyme skills are equally tight, and T3 and Baatin just compliment his virtuosity, bringing out the nuances of each track with game-tight lyrical deliveries of their own. On this CD we hear what hip hop sounds like when it's made by real musicians (big up to the Roots as well). JayDee picks up where Pete Rock left off. And did I mention that Jazzy Jeff's use of some very over-used James Brown grunts and riffs is the best ever? As a native Detroiter who has lived in New York for some years, and who had all but given up on hip hop with the break up of Tribe, the silence of De La, and the perplexing success of some truly dreadful rap (Read: Nelly, every Jay-Z album other than Reasonable Doubt, and all things Puffy), I feel guilty for ever thinking that hip hop was dead. Acts like Mos Def, Common, Pharaoh and SV have restored my faith. Maybe it just speaks to me as a Detroiter,a Midwesterner and a man who can truly appreciate the finer points of mackin' and ballin', I don't know. Buy it, you won't regret it, and if you're not feeling it, then you're not worthy of it in the first place.

This album is so ill- i've had it for a few years now and I really think its the perfect album.

I listen to it in the car, chillin with a lady, doin whatever- its got the most laidback out vibe it just fits in anywhere

The rhymes arent the Most complex but its not about verbal battling its about just flowing and doin whatever, just vibin to the beat. Its a masterpiece

do yourself a favor and buy this right now