Innercity Griots

When someone speaks of old skool hip hop, it is usually about KRS One, Public Enemy or others like RUN DMC - artists that truly stamped themselves on hiphop history by reppin' new styles, ideas, lyrics, influences and regions. When it comes to style and regions, one group is often overlooked and has been consistently slept on by modern day fans - Freestyle Fellowship.

Freestyle Fellowship is a collection of artists most notable and well known of whom is Aceyalone. This Los Angeles based and inspired group was the toast of 1993 when they dropped their second album, Innercity Griots. Set to thumping basslines and jazzy beats, exemplifying the art of emcees being in synch with each other, this album is an underground classic, a gemstone waiting to be discovered. Featuring elaborate rhymes, cunning stories and just outright hillarity when it comes to storytelling and verse killing, Freestyle Felloship set the benchmark for many a years with their teamwork, production and ability to intertwine styles and voices into a coherent album that is a powerful punch to any underground hip hop lover's gut.

This album however, is for those listeners who can appreciate the value of something new (or in this case, something quite old). This is not something you will fully appreciate at first listen, this is an acquired taste type of thing. Sometimes, the emcees verses are so fast that they are hard to decipher, the production is set to that speed too. They speak of complex takes, bouncing rhymes off each other and playing a tag game with jazz improvisation. The whole album is inspired, its art.

Download the album here ---> Freestyle Fellowship -- Innercity Griots.