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CAMP LO
Black Hollywood
Profile, 2007
5.5/10, Average [scale]

Black Hollywood

The “curse of the dope debut” isn’t the most debilitating of curses. Nas has done just fine, despite never topping Illmatic, and Hov’s stuff is still always compared to Reasonable Doubt. Producer Ski-Beatz, of Reasonable Doubt fame, coincidently did his next best work with Bronx hip hop duo, Camp Lo. Their 1997 debut, Uptown Saturday Night was reasonable and undoubtedly… dope. A stylishly executed exploitation of 70s blaxploitation (that’s “black exploitation” film) laced with excessive slanguage (that’s slang language), Uptown rode silky jazz and funk influenced beats to relative success (perhaps including beats left over from Jay’s debut). This all put Ski, Sonny Cheeba and Geechie Suede on the proverbial rap map.

They followed Uptown with the forgettable and unfortunately titled Let’s Do It Again in 2002. Now, quite some time later, they’re back with Black Hollywood. Although it’s not terrible, it doesn’t do enough to dispel the ‘curse’. Thankfully, there is enough campy Camp Lo retro flair to remind fans to pop Uptown back into their rotation.

And good for those fans. Ski and Camp Lo are both obviously talented. This flashback era sampling and style is pretty damn hard to pull off for an entire disc, which might be why they release material every 5 years. Ski samples the first (and least catchy) 5 seconds of Rare Earth’s “I Just Wanna Celebrate” on “82 Afros”, while Cheeba and Suede spit a sticky flow. The result is one of Black Hollywood’s strongest tracks.

“Suga Willie’s Revenge” is similarly enjoyable. Ski throws down an accessible beat coupled with a breezy jazz-flute loop and a thrusting two-note guitar lick. It sounds good enough to ignore Sonny and Cheeba, and Jungle Brown on the guest spot. The subject of the song is Willie, a glamorous figure who is legendary, yet apparently only because he’s wealthy, powerful, and well-dressed. Despite the dynamite beat, and the fact that Willie drives period whips, his mythical existence is about as interesting as a children’s nursery rhyme.

Speaking of children’s nursery rhymes; the Black Hollywood version of “Jack N Jill” is educational and far more real. A darker, yet still funky jam tells the unfortunate tale of the social sex-trade. Jack falls victim to jailbait (“body was a ten, but she just fifteen / gave a little sliffy and he gave her little green”) while Jill would “swallow for Chanel / bendin’ over for Fendi / she don’t want no husband cuz she know how men be.”

The fact that this brusque track follows “Suga Willie’s Revenge” creates an obvious dichotomy of the blaxploitation theme. Infamous for depicting extreme ideas of sex and violence (like Jack N Jill), this genre also portrayed exaggerated African American characters (like Suga Willie). Camp Lo is almost too purposeful with their creative connection to their signature era’s style.

As far as the rest of the album goes, check out the title track/single for a small comparative glimpse of the brilliance that was “Luchini”. Of course, if you’re desperate for Camp Lo’s soulful sound, you can try the mediocre “Soul Fever” or “Posse from the Bronx”. But if your blaxploisposure (that’s blaxploitation exposure) is limited to Shaft or Dolemite, you should pick up Uptown Saturday Night first. Can you dig it?

by Brian Meredith