Ali Shaheed Muhammad – Shaheedullah and Stereotypes Review

What if I told you that DJ Premier (Gangstarr…but I really shouldn’t have to tell you that…) had recorded a solo album. I imagine that you’d be somewhat excited for starters. You’d be convinced convinced that the beats would be retarded*, and that there would probabaly be lyrical contributions from the usual suspects: Guru(definitely), Jeru the Damaja(maybe), or Group Home(if we’re terribly unlucky). He might have even enlisted mainstream heavyweights Jigga or Nas, since being provided past production by the legendary beat-smith is one of the few things that they have in common.

Basically, you’d have fairly solid expectations of what the album would sound like.

I would venture to say that the same might be true for Mr. Muhammad. As the primary producer for legendary group A Tribe Called Quest, Ali Shaheed Muhammad was the sonic architect for one of the most important groups in hip-hop history. His work behind the boards on the seminal releases Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders set new standards for jazz sampling, and drum programming. He’s a production pioneer whose list of stylistic children include J-dilla (yeah I said it), 9th Wonder, No ID, Dave West and others.

Needless to say, a fan of his would have pre-conceived notions of how his solo endeavour would sound. However, if there’s one apparent lesson that 2004’s crop of semi-underground hip-hop releases is driving home, it’s that expectations are something to be left in a waste paper basket labeled: the late nineties.

Shaheed’s new solo work Shaheedullah and Stereotypes (Ryko), throws just about everything you thought about the Queens-bred producer into the recycle bin. Unless you thought that he really, really liked being in Lucy Pearl (the r&b group composed of Raphael Saadiq and Dawn from EnVogue).

Shaheedullah and Stereotypes is an animal all its own. It’s Ali’s attempt to break free from the expectations created by his past work and create a new place for himself and his work. If you’re expecting jazz loops and 808 booms, this is not the album for you. Likewise, if you’re expecting guest appearances from Q-tip, Phife, Busta, or any of the native tongues this is not your record. You’ll be either pleasantly surprised or mildly horrified to find out that the majority of the MCing and the crooning on the lp are performed by Ali himself. Unlike De La Soul’s DJ Maseo, or The Roots’ drummer 2uestlove, who’ve dabbled on the microphone while remaining, for the most part, in the background, Shaheed had never so much as breathed in the vocal booth throughout recording five lp’s with Tribe. Except that one time in El Segundo…

Sharing vocal appearances on the record are newcomers Kay(MC from the Foundation) and Sy Smith (female r&b vocalist, i.e. taking the place of Dawn…) Established artists featured are Stokely (formerly of Mint Condition) and Chip Fu from Fu Schnickens(!). So there are SOME collabos, but make no mistake about it, this is the Shaheed show. He even dons a spoken word beret for the album’s intro.

Aside from attempting to break new ground as an artist, Shaheed also uses the lp as a platform to bring a spiritual consciousness back into the forefront of hip-hop. He manages to do so without sounding condescending or heavy handed. As a listener I was able to appreciate him being concerned for the people of the world without shoving his particular faith in my face on every track.

What I don’t appreciate, however, are the Pearlesque r&b tracks that make up about 40% of the album. Now before my new pal Mathan aims his hater pistol at me, allow me to explain. It’s not that I have a problem with Ali doing r&b tracks. They’re just not all that good. As innovative of a musician as he is, I expect to him to write songs that don’t use tired themes. And it’s very dissappointing for his tracks to sound so much like everything else that’s on the neo-soul market. What it adds up to is a hip-hop percentage that gets a B and an r&b portion that earns a C-.

I do, however, applaud his efforts in creating an album that is steeped in spirituality and reaches across genre lines. My only concern is that he may need a few more voice lessons before he can effectively melt the young ladies’ undergarments away. And that maybe two albums, one as a foray into r&b territory, and another to whet the appetites of fans of his hip-hop work, could be more desireable.