Inner City Griots

by Freestyle Fellowship

Overview

Freestyle Fellowship emerged on the L.A. rap scene during the early '90s. Given the chance to hone its skills at a health-food store's open-mic nights, the group quickly earned the attention and respect of the city's hip-hop underground. Their second album, 1993's Inner City Griots, is the only completely collaborative album released during the group's career. Surprisingly, each MC (Mikah Nine, Jupiter, Peace, and Aceyalone) seems fully matured at this early stage. On Inner City Griots, the production is improved to match the group's vibrant, dexterous wordplay. Swapping rhymes with agility and grace, the Fellowship is a rap tag team par excellence. At times, the lyrics are so dense and the delivery so quick that the words are practically indecipherable. Yet the rappers are just as adept at slowing down the pace without losing a bit of their lyrical energy or creativity. Unrestricted by tired rap themes, the Fellowship strikes at a range of subjects. The abrasive opening one-two of "Blood" and "Bullies of the Block" might throw listeners off guard but as "Everything's Everything" opens, they provide assurances that "It's all right y'all." The guns are dropped and microphones prevail. Inner City Griots (a griot is an African storyteller) takes on Aceyalone's twisted nursery rhyme "Cornbread," the positive vibes of "Inner City Boundaries," the locker-room machismo of "Shammy's" (an inevitable ode to the ladies), and "Way Cool," a tale of serial killing horror. On "Park Bench People," the Freestyle Fellowship even asks whether rap music is big enough to take in a sung rumination on homelessness. With live instrumentation provided by the Underground Railroad (whose members appear throughout the album), the song stretches into a section reminiscent of '70s Stevie Wonder. Like all great groups that preceded it, the Fellowship was simply testing the limits of hip-hop and its own capabilities on this multifaceted collection. ~ Nathan Bush

Product Details

Release Date:	08/11/2023
Label:	Music On Vinyl
UPC:	0600753974087
Rank:	42470

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Freestyle Fellowship   Primary Artist
Daddy-O   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist,Vocals
Volume 10   Guest Artist
Ganja K "Chronic"   Guest Artist
Kevin O'Neal   Bass,Bass (Upright)
Onaje Murray   Vibraphone
Robert Harris   Bass,Drums,Timpani,Percussion
Marvin McDaniel   Guitar,Guitar (Acoustic)
Christy Smith   Bass,Bass (Upright)
Jon Williams   Trumpet
Doddy-O   Vocals
Randall Willis   Flute,Saxophone,Sax (Tenor)
DJ Kiilu   Turntables
Rodney Millon   Guitar
Alfred Threats   Bass
Tom Ralls   Trombone
JMD   Bass,Drums,Timpani,Percussion
Don Littleton   Percussion
Spoon   Rap

Technical Credits

Robert "Kool" Bell   Composer
Les McCann   Composer
Robert "Spike" Mickens   Composer
Jerry Gillespie   Composer
Matt Hyde   Engineer
The Earthquake Brothers   Composer
Daddy-O   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Performer
Henry Mancini   Composer
Billy Cobham   Composer
Kevin O'Neal   Arranger
D. Thomas   Composer
Freestyle Fellowship   Composer,Producer
Gene Redd, Jr.   Composer
R. Bell   Composer
Kedar Massenburg   Mixing,Executive Producer
Aceyalone   Mixing
Glen Bolton   Composer
Kim Buie   Executive Producer
Eddie Hayes   Composer
Randall Willis   Composer
Michael Troy   Composer,Composer
Rich Herrera   Mixing,Engineer
Edman   Arranger,Producer
JMD   Arranger
M. Davis   Composer
Earthquake Brothers   Composer
Earthquake   Composer
George "Funky" Brown   Composer
Bambawar   Composer
Mtulazaji Issan Davis   Composer
Ornette Glen   Composer
Clydes Smith   Composer