Street Soul

When Guru took a break from his full-time gig in Gang Starr to put together Jazzmatazz back in 1993, blending jazz and hip-hop was still a relatively novel idea. Now, seven years and one more Jazzmatazz installment later (in 1995), groups like The Roots have followed that wild hair as far as it needed to go, so why is Guru’s third Jazzmatazz project, Street Soul, the best of the bunch? Because instead worrying about breaking new musical ground, he and his merry cast of collaborators concentrate on digging deeply into the ground they helped sow. Erykah Badu’s scat-singing across “Plenty” contrasts well with Guru’s suave rhyme-play, while a seductive piano, wild beats, and Macy Gray’s gravel-throated vocals put the smooth ooze into “All I Said.” Elsewhere its old-timers like Herbie Hancock and Isaac Hayes or newcomers like Les Nubians and Angie Stone strutting their stuff and helping Guru find sweet, rhythmic soul (think D’Angelo or Lauryn Hill) at the crossroads between hip-hop and jazz.