January 1997. The Hip Hop world is still reeling from the tragic murder of Tupac Shakur, yet was approximately two months away from another tragic loss. Buoyed on the backs of the Shaolin sword mastery of the Wu-Tang Clan, the poetical genius of Nas and the lyrical heavyweight champion Notorious B.I.G., east coast-based Hip Hop had once again reclaimed the top spot.
It was during this time that a duo known as Camp Lo came onto the scene. Infusing their beats, rhymes and life with the life, rhymes and beats from the â70s, Geechi Suede [click to read] and Sonny Cheeba dropped their debut album Uptown Saturday Night. With producer Ski matching the duoâs Technicolor rhymes with Blaxploitation-drenched instrumentals, the album was packed with vintage single after single, including âCooley Highâ [click to read], âBlack Nostaljack aka Come Onâ [click to read] and the original rain dance anthem, âLuchini aka This Is Itâ [click to read].
Since then however, the âLo have never quite been able to capitalize off the frosh effortâs success. Their second effort, 2002âs Letâs Do It Again, was met with mediocre reviews and sales, while 2007âs Black Hollywood didnât quite meet expectations as well. Now in addition to an SRC Records single deal, Cheeba and Suede are back one more time independently with Stone & Rob: Caught On Tape.
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With Ski only spotted on one cut, the smoothly groovy âTicket 4 2,â the Jazzy samples that buoyed Uptown Saturday Night are replaced by a mishmash of genre-crossing backdrops which do a capable job of supporting Camp Loâs Byzantine lyrics. On the Styles P and Pete Rock-featured âOn Smash,â The Ghost wrecks shop over the minimalist beat, spitting his version of the Jungle Brothers entrance, âFive thousand boominâ watts/Real loud, like a gun that boom in Watts⊠S.P. run rhymes like an athlete/So, who wanna meet me at the track meet?â âGotchaâ is an R&B-tinged track where Geechi and Sonny toast to their leading ladies, while the Apple Juice Kid-produced â89 Of Crimeâ is powered by a dank echoes and a Reggae-influenced beat. Not entirely straying from their trademark sound, The âLo glide of the soulful chants of âPips,â while the Smoking Apples-produced âDiamond Crookzâ finds the duo at their lyrical peak, backed by anthemic claps and subtle cooing.
However, the over-emphasis on minimalist instrumentation also provides mixed results. Jungle Boogie Brownâs skitter verse on âHold Onâ doesnât hold weight, while the boring âHaâ and uninspired âSki Hiâ both fall flat. Although Smoking Apples and Apple Juice Kid are capable soundscape artists, they simply pale in comparison to the majority producer of Uptown Saturday Night, Ski, which whom they are seemingly trying to emulate.
Stone & Rob: Caught On Tape is a decent album by Camp Lo. While it hits the mark on a few occasions, it does not capture the magic of their 1997 jump-off, which they seem to be trying to recreate. Perhaps their next release will be more Blu-Ray than eight-track.