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Goodie Mob - Soul Food Instrumentals (LaFace, 1995)

There really aren’t very many hip hop albums that I would recommend seriously checking the instrumentals to. Rapping always supersedes not rapping and unless you are a DJ or a beat biting dope style taking MC looking for something to spit on, son, then you really should not have instrumental albums in your collection. Dudes who sit around like “I prefer the instrumental version of Deltron 3030 for when I trim my beard” or whatever hate rap music and should kill themselves.

But I picked up the Soul Food instrumentals over the weekend, mostly in the name of Dungeon Family completism and they are worth a listen if you are seriously interested in Organized Noize productions (and why wouldn’t you be?). Because the rapping is so dense and musical space so open it’s really easy to miss how much is going on instrumentally on this record - the bed spring squeaks on “Fighting,” the conga loops on “Live At The OMNI,” the wandering piano leads on “Thought Process” and “Blood.” Live instrumentation allows for tiny flourishes in a way sampling doesn’t quite and the way ONP takes advantage of this is almost in direct opposition to The Roots’ approach with live musicians. It’s neither about showboating nor sedating them into hip hop repetition but giving them a forum to display their talents subtly. Great musicians know when to move in silence and great producers know exactly which pair of slippers to loan them.

This is not my rip, I found it on the computer. (Don’t leave your Rapidshare links ‘round me, true player for real.)