producers: j.rawls

guests: j.sand, dose one, fat jon, j-live, apani b-fly emcee, capital d, grap luva, others.

Proving that the beats play a very important role in this hip hop thing here, are numerous buzzes about producers, the questions about who produced the tracks on so and so's album. Albums are validated by producers, they are mentioned on advertisements, and the labels shell out bundles of money to get the hottest sonic adventures of the current producer of the month on their records. Another thing that truly shows the importance of the men behind the boards, are the producers albums that still were a novelty some time ago, but now are fixtures in the world of hip hop. And so J.Rawls gets the chance to shine, not on his own, as he does invite some emcees, but as the one that gives the album its name.

Producers are musicians too. Maybe even a little more than an emcee. For an emcee a beat is a tool, and without one he'd be talking. But for the producer, the track is the artistic output, the one that lets him talk, the beat is a bear soul, and without the emcee, the beat would still be music. So the beat is the love, the frustration and the business card. And with "The Essence Of J.Rawls", said producer lets us catch a glimpse of himself on the way to simply enjoying what he does and hooked up for us.

"What You Want Is?" features the turntable trickery of Five Deez' Pase, that slices through the name of the track, putting it over a humming voice and the jazzy backdrop, that is part of Rawls portfolio. On "Superhero", the first emcees are introduced to a track, with Mass Influence grabbing the chance to speak their complex voice tapestry, giving themselves the role of the good guys, while the untalented and phony cats are made playing super villians. With the approach of "life's a game, stop dodging the ball", these used to call us y'all so stupid express their philosophy behind this. We of course know that J.Rawls is 50% of the Lone Catalysts collective, and the other 50% show up on "Birds Of A Feather", as J. Sands teams up with Heimy D to put their verses over a smooth and guitar featuring track, that lyrically picks up where the other track left off.

With "Elegy (In 3 Parts)" the vibe of the album changes to more melancholic vibes. But there aren't too many vibes in here anyways, as for the big part the low bass takes over, while Rubix talks about the demise of the emcee, the lost art of creativity, the break down of what used to be beautiful and is now captured with fish lenses. On the story telling tip, J-Live puts rhymes to "Great Live Caper", with him also adding the cuts to the track, as he is hunting the adventure tale developing in front of your ears. The most interesting track follows next with oddball Dose One teaming up with fellow Ohio native Fat Jon (of the Five Deez) on "Meniscus". What on paper sounds very ill fitting actually works very well, with Dose taming down his usual strangeness, as he's not really bouncing from wall to wall, but sitting as still as such an overactive rhymer is able to. Rawls puts a minimal beat to their rhymes, that has not too many things going on, it being lead by the drum that's in the forefront.

There are very deep roots of jazz within Rawls, and he does not hide them, but puts 'em to the center on "Blue # 2", that not only features Home Skill rhyming, but also Charles Cooper playing the sax oh so beautifully. This jazz emotions can also be heard on "Cold Turkey", that feature one of the most comfortable voices of hip hop, as Capital D from All Natural is flowing over the track. With him is Mr. Greenweedz also rhyming, and DJ Nasty Nate scratching. It's definitely D who carries the track on this one, while on "Far Away", the beat is getting the first breath of attention, due to it being even nicer than the other ones on here. Now adding Apani B-Bly Emcee and Mr. Complex to the track, only gives this track a further element of appeal, with them fantasizing about the world that is out there, letting their thoughts travel further than they themselves will most likely ever be able to.

It's only right that the Lone Catalysts deserve their rightful shine, as they get their own track, called "Lone Catalysts (Remix)". And with the intelligent 70s party song type of a beat, things are just dope, and will put the name in everyone's active knowledge. Rawls is even picking up the mic himself to give us a verse, but on "Check The Clock", he's quiet again. This track features another one of the best beats on the albums, that J. Sands and Grap Luva are given to rhyme to. We are then going to D.C. to pick up Asheru of the Unspoken Heard, who is utilizing the guitar enhanced "Nommo", for a track that is spreading the love not deserved by some, but comfortable to many, it being enhanced with true thoughts and a reflection of the concept that gave this track its name. J. Rawls allows himself the luxury of a solo track, again stepping to the mic on "They Can't See Me", that features a rather annoying hook though. And there's still one more gem to come, as we are treated to "Blue # 2 (Reprise)". The magic of this track only fully unfolds now, it being stripped off the distracting voices, and it now allows us to fully enjoy the blissful saxophone playing by Charles Cooper. And this track ends this album with the most high rising spirit, that has carried us away and is only regretfully bringing us back.

What we then can finally comment with J.Rawls never forcing himself or his beats on us. His style allows them to confidentially hover in the back, to let the emcees take the most of our attention, and really use the beats as a tool, with the beats being comfortable being the vessel, rather than the guide.