What's happened to the rest of Jamla?

Is it just me or has 9th Wonder been pushing his fem-cee Rapsody just a little too hard on the listening masses? Could it be true that sometimes — or at least in this case, for sure — less can indeed be more?

This is something that's been lingering on my list of Hiphop pet peeves for quite a while now, and this week's release of the much anticipated collaboration between new Jamla recording artist add-2 and Khrysis, the leader of the 9th's hefty stable of producers and beat makers, finally pushed that pet peeve right on up to the top of the totem pole of things in rap on my nerves right now.

Oh yeah, Jamla is 9th Wonder's label...

9th Wonder, The Wonder Years Album Review

It was hard for me at first to fully digest the continuity of pure genius that is 9th Wonder's new album, what with the steady assault from the Jamla family of artists signed to and affiliated with the superproducer's label of the same name.

I mean, a guy can be forgiven for getting caught up in the dizzying array of releases in the weeks leading up to The Wonder Years retailing in stores and online a few weeks ago.

Like a 2011 version of Killah Priest and Cappadonna -- who released their critically acclaimed, 1998 Wu-Tang Clan-affiliated debut albums within a week of one another -- Median and then Phonte both hit us over the head in consecutive weeks with their own respective triumphant reunions with 9th as well as a return from a rap hiatuses. And then, right on there heels comes this album.

Who would have though that eight years after getting his so-called "big break" by lacing Jay-Z with an album cut that 9th would still be bringing the heat on a consistent basis? I did.

Producer AMP Channels His Inner DJ Premier

9TH WONDER presents THE SOUL COUNCIL from Pricefilms on Vimeo.

One of the most basic ways an up-and-coming Hiphop producer can separate himself from the throngs of Johnny-come-new jack beat makers is to carve out a unique sound that is immediately recognizable to the listener regardless of the rapper or singer.

And, as it turns out, another way to do so is by crafting your style around a sound that's associated with a more established producer. Well, for the most part.

If I may (since I, ahem, don't actually know the man), please allow me to formally introduce Amp: one-sixth of The Soul Council -- a collective of producers assembled by 9th Wonder for his It's a Wonderful World Music Group and Jamla Records imprint -- and, more notably, the man who has successfully mastered the art of consistently crafting DJ Premier-style beats.

9th Wonder and Phonte Reunite!

In honor of the reconciliation between former Little Brother groupmates Phonte and 9th Wonder, I have decided to share a little homage of sorts to the prolific sonic brilliance that is 9th Wonder, the man who is almost single-handedly keeping boom bap Hiphop music alive and kicking. I said almost.

The two of them recently revealed they'd been working together on Phonte's upcoming solo album, with 9th producing most of the album.

It's been well documented that 9th and Phonte met in college before forming with Rapper Big Pooh the seminal rap trio Little Brother and ultimately creating and releasing The Listening, which was instantly and still remains a throwback for the ages -- a true school Hiphop album complete with highly skilled lyrics and rhymes from two rappers possessing Run DMC-like chemistry paced by the expert-sounding-but-still-rough-around-the-edges (think RZA on 36 Chambers) beat-making wizardry of 9th Wonder that combined elements of Pete Rock and J Dilla while still managing to stand out and distinguish himself as an exceptional, traditional Hiphop producer in his own right.

Since 9th's break from Little Brother six years ago, he has been on a mission to make music on his own terms while never again allowing himself to be pressured by major label executives -- which he says he experienced at the hands of Atlantic Records (which apparently still forces signees to compromise artistic integrity) surrounding the creation and consequent release of the group's second album (ironically titled The Minstrel Show), their first under a contract with a major label.

That mission, in addition to working with a diverse list of artists -- from Drake to David Banner to Murs to Lil B to Idris Elba to Buckshot -- has included the creation of It's a Wonderful World Music Group, which houses his record label Jamla, home to the following well rounded roster of artists:

• Actual Proof
• Big Remo
• GQ
• HaLo
• Heather Victoria
• RapSody
• Skyzoo
• Thee Tom Hardy
• TP
• Tyler Woods

Hopefully the album features more of Phonte the emcee and less of Phonte the crooner, but as long as 9th's beats make up the majority of the backdrop, the results should be nothing short of monumental.

All In Together Now: Collabo Albums Thriving

2010 will be remembered for many things. But a lack of collaborative albums between solo rappers and a single producer is definitely not one of them.

Who knew that the phenomenon that was arguably perfected in 2003 and 2004 would continued to thrive six years later with an unusually high number of rappers and producers putting their egos aside to partner for the greater good of Hiphop music?

Aside from resulting in quality music from rappers and producers responsible for molding Hiphop into the pure artform that it is today, these collaborations also give the artists in question a chance to showcase their talents alongside their equally talented peers (something that does not happen as often as it could and should).

For this critic, when it comes to this type of Hiphop album in 2010, it just didn’t get any better than Skyzoo teaming up with !llmind for Live From the Tapedeck, which was released on Duck Down – the pioneering independent label responsible for a plethora of collaboration albums released over the past few years.

Boston area trailblazers Statik Selektah and Termanology took a break from being solo artists to come together to release their 1982 album -- one of the most slept-on underground rap albums of the year -- proving that Statik is one of today's best and most consistent producers in the business.

But late last month west coast mainstays The Alchemist and his rapping counterpart Oh No (and the brother of the legendary Madlib) quietly released Gutter Water, a monster of an album recorded under the name Gangrene that features beats and rhymes credited to both artists, similar in nature to the above referenced Jaylib project.

Released in that same vein, Philadelphia drug rapper Freeway and Jake One -- a prolific producer from Seattle who is responsible for tons of recent underground and mainstream hits – showcased their unlikely partnership in the form of Stimulus Package, 16 banging tracks that featured Free along with Raekwon, Bun B alongside his State Property bretheren.

9^th Wonder and Murs concluded their celebrated series of collaborative albums with ForNever, their fourth album together that didn’t quite measure up to their first three offerings in this format but was still much appreciated from fans of both.

The improbable alliance of KRS-One and Wu-Tang Clan producer True Master provided fans with a bird’s eye view of The T'Cha rhyming over that Shaolin sound, but unfortunately when the two immovable forces collided the result was not as breathtaking as fans might have hoped.

Looking forward to 2011, the popular trend of Hiphop collaboration albums promises to continue in a major way beginning with a joint album from Pete Rock and DJ Premier, who have gone on the record to discuss their upcoming project that will feature 10 tracks – five for each producer with the rapper(s) of the producers’ choice on each song.

Not to be outdone, Def Jam label mates Sheek Louch and Ghostface Killah (who both have albums scheduled to be released later this month) announced a few weeks ago the Wu/Block album, a collaboration of Wu-Tang Clan members and D-Block members uniting to create one album. With the considerable talents of the core members of each collective, the Wu/Block album has the potential to be a masterpiece, but many fear the album will only feature each group’s affiliates instead of highlighting the lyrical talents of Jadakiss alongside the GZA, or any other conceivable combination between the two groups.

Also scheduled to be released in the next year is Monumental, the collaboration between Smif N' Wessun and Pete Rock that has already spawned the underground hit Prevail, featuring Tek and Steele in rare form trading rhymes with Raekwon over a classic horn-driven beat.

And after more than a decade, talks still have not died down of a possible album with NaS on the mic and Premier on the boards, which is arguably more anticipated than Detox.

But until either or both of those albums come out, it is obvious there will not be a shortage of good music to come in the next 12 months. I'm looking forward to it.

Let the Horns Blow

In years past the use of horns on a hiphop track (either sampled or live) was the recipe for instant success, but over the past decade or so the soundscape to our treasured music form has been noticeably absent of those trusty trumpets and saxophones that were omnipresent in the 80s and much of the 90s.

From Public Enemy's signature wailing, looped high-pitched horns found on classics such as Don't Believe the Hype and Rebel Without a Pause to Big Daddy Kane's more subtle brass sounds on Smooth Operator and Young Gifted and Black, you couldn't find an album without at least a few songs that prominently featured horns.

But now, what was once the calling card of Pete Rock, the Beatnuts and Large Professor (and others) has now become a lost art.

Instead, the horns were seemingly replaced by hard drums (not necessarily a bad thing) as well as synths, which admirably simulate horns but unfortunately lack the desired effect created in the past. The result was, ironically, and still is, the music being popularized beyond belief while at the same time losing much of its authenticity and so-called “realness” on which the music was originally based.

But certain producers have seemingly made a recent effort to bring back the horns in a major way, showcasing how the addition of one or more brass instruments can significantly liven up any song while simultaneously paying homage to their predecessors, thus revitalizing the soundtrack to my formative years. It’s refreshing.

We’re not quite back in mid-90s mode, but with the below showings from the past few years, it seems the hiphop horn is making a serious comeback.

Significant recent contributions have come from unexpected sources, Young Buck and Lil' Wayne, as well as from the usual suspects like Freddie Foxxx and 9th Wonder.

None of these songs are popular by any means, but the vast range of styles each rapper has shows no one is immune to the magic horns create on a good, solid hiphop track. Hell, even Sheek Louch got in on the fun on his recent mixtape with his reworking of the Jungle Brothers 20-year-old classic The Promo.

Hopefully this is a sign of things to come and producers are bringing it back to the essence, as music has always been a cyclical art.

Here are but a few examples of what the game’s been missing, in no particular order:

Digable Planets - Rebirth of Slick
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Honorable mention:

Surprisingly much of the material from many of the game’s more celebrated producers -- Dilla and Dr. Dre immediately come to mind -- is absent of horns.

I know I forgot plenty of examples.

What are your favorite hiphop songs -- new or old -- that feature live or sampled horns?