Gab has fun over other folks' beats.
At the same time that The Gift of Gab rhymes as if his solo album was the new Blackalicious album, he rhymes over beats that are definitely a take off from Blackalicious. I was quick to ask the question, "Why does he want to release a solo?" Well, maybe he just wanted to rhyme over beats that he knew would put all the attention on him. Not that the beats provided by Jake One and Vitamin D are boring or even bad. On the contrary. It's one of the strongest produced hip hop albums to come along in a while. It's just that, by now, I was so used to Gab rhyming over these incredibly big and lush backdrops that were just as much layered as they were catchy. To hear him over traditional sounding beats was a bit of a shock at first (imagine that -- shocked by normality!). The record mainly retains a good soulful feeling. You will quickly get the feeling that this record was a blast for him to make. He's never made a solo record before so there were no expectations. It was released on his old indy standby Quanumm so there were no major label pressures either. And because of that, the record is a smashing success. Because he could've gone in a completely different direction than his group but didn't and decided to cover familiar ground, just from a different approach, is why this record sounds so fresh and has a lasting quality. Album's defining quote: "Not even because this is how I'm earning my paychecks, but just because this shit feels good!"
~Austin
