4 out of 5

Label: Pan

Produced by: Cut Chemist, DJ Nu-Mark

This is the J5 I’d always wanted, the one that stirred butterflies of togetherness and de-sentimentalized that with sharp lyricism and slick turntablism.  The one that, upon hearing Quality Control‘s singles, made me assume that album would be a blast, instead of the impressive but tiresome string of self-congratulation I ended up feeling it to be.

Not that their self-titled debut is necessarily all that different – several cuts are repeated on QC, after all – but the vibe is shifted just enough, thanks, in part, to a balance in sequencing that ends up changing the whole end effect.  Instrumentals take up about half the tracks, here, which reduces the feeling like J5 only has one thing to rap about – namely themselves, and their old school sensibilities – and, wouldn’t ya know, the less frequently we hear them boast, the easier it is to believe their claims.  Things are just more laid back on the album, and cut in with the virtuosity of Chemist classics like Lesson 6, it makes for an undeniably feel-good formula.

All the other existing positives remain: the smooth and clever wordflow; the soulful beats.  And it could just be perception, but the more indie-spirited production supports the old school sensibility: the Sugar Hill Gang-nabbed beats sound wonderfully dusty and vintage; you get the feeling like these cats are spinning and rhyming in your living room, and not wishing for an arena.

Being, essentially, an expanded version of the preceding EP, the energy somewhat slips toward album’s end, when we’re past a natural ending point and just padding the runtime.  So, oddly, for my money, the version of this with less music (i.e. the original EP) is the way to go, but J5 is a classic case of kicking things off with their best work and never quite achieving the same stellar quality (ironic…) thereafter.