Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Merry stringer, January 27, 2006
Concept albums are a double-edged sword because new listeners might like the new material while old listeners might accuse the artist of selling out -- which explains some of the negative reviews for Miri Ben-Ari's latest album, The Hip-Hop Violinist (no, people, this is not her first album). While I do understand where the naysayers are coming from, I still think this is a good album.
One thing I'd like to explain, though, is the reason as to why there are so many guest stars on here. Well, look at it like when a producer like Quincy Jones, for example, releases an album. Producers are involved with the music, nothing more, while other artists take care of the rhymes and crooning. This is why Miri is only playing instead of rapping or singing. And I actually thought it was easy to hear her strings over all the other instruments. (I also wonder if those that complained that there aren't enough violin solos on here listened to "Lord of the Strings", "Chillin' In the Key of E" or her retake of the "Star-Spangled Banner".)
Anyway, I agree with everyone else when they say that "Sunshine to the Rain" (with Scarface and Anthony Hamilton) is the best song. Anthony also impresses on another track, "She Was Just a Friend", which also features vocals from songstress Algebra (um...). Another good song is "I've Been Waiting On You", which features a chorus by John Legend and verses by Consequence (why oh why can't he get a deal?).
Miri's violins are even able to make Lil' Mo and Fatman Scoop sound decent on "Hold Your Head Up High" and "Jump & Spread Out", respectively. But sometimes even SHE can't salvage others' missteps. Baby and Lil' Wayne sound fine on "4 Flat Tires", but Six Shot's rapping style just feels strange. And "Fly Away" (with Fabolous, Kanye West and Musiq) contains a weak verse and it's not from Fabolous ("I'll have to make the world bounce like full messages in emails" -- why does Kanye say the corniest things on other people's albums?). And Akon sounds better than he usually does on "Miss Melody" -- till you get to the second verse, that is.
If you like violins but you're not a big fan of hip-hop, then I wouldn't advise you to cop this album. But if you CAN open your mind to both styles, then do what I did and give the hip-hop violinist a try.
Anthony Rupert
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Masterpiece!, February 2, 2006
If there's a next step in hip-hop's evolution, this has to be it.
I caught Miri's name in a small blurb in Scratch Magazine and right away the idea of a hip-hop album driven and underscored by a violinist stayed with me until the release of this album. Ever since Dr.Dre's "Still Dre" with the signature Ukelele (or however you spell it) and simplified layers of sounds from "Forgot about Dre" I've been waiting for the next generation of producers to step the rap sound up a little.
Until now I've been dissapointed.
The musical complexity of this album almost makes it hard to describe. It really is a few steps beyond any traditional hip-hop and R&B album. Though hip-hop has transcended the color lines in this country, it's still safe to say that it is still considered a "black music form" and often claims to represent the black ghetto experience with grimy, aggressive and sometimes melancholy sounds and lyrics. Ironically, I would say that what Miri has done is more accurate of the inner-city reality, since she spans everything from the soulful to the celebratory. She even reaches back far enough into hip-hop history to bring the legendary beat-box vocalism of Doug E. Fresh. You don't get much more grimy than the Beat Box, since that's all early rappers had for "drum machines." All of this, of course, is threaded together by Miri's violin strings, making the album feel more consistent than today's multi-producer albums.
The standout track on here is "Sunshine to the Rain" featuring Scarface, an underground legend in his own right. This song is good enough to keep writing about. I've followed Scarface's early work with mixed reactions. Not because he's not a good artist, but because you can tell that something deeper and painful was hiding behind his me-too gangster music. Whatever he had hiding, managed to stick its head out in "Mind Playing Tricks on Me". But on this album those emotions are completely exposed as Mr.Scarface talks about the real internal pressures that a person endures when exposed to the streets. He's not rapping about killing somebody else...he's rapping about killing himself! The great arc of this song is that the tempo is upbeat and inspiring. The song feels like you're at the end of the tunnel, and the light is there. I replayed this song several times before I finished the album.
And that's the final thing about this...I can't say that there's one skippable track on here. Obviously, some songs are better than others. That's inevitable. But even the least of these songs will have it's moment in the future where you feel like going directly to it, bypassing all the others.
I hope this is a hallmark of what is to come. Not just from Miri Ben Ari...but maybe hip-hop's current and future producers will look at this masterpiece and agree to bring hip-hop to a next stage that goes beyond sample clearance. Maybe we'll then have some much needed new life and maturity to an art form that is struggling to get past puberty.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Bad For a Concept Album, June 14, 2006
This album is different and in a hip-hop world that continues to grow more monotonous that stands out as successful whether different means good or not.
But it is good. Very good. Miri Ben-Ari is an amazing violinist (The Beautiful Temple and Sahara are her two other, less revolutionary studio albums) and her staccato-filled style aligns perfectly with the snare and bass beats and rap vocals that go along with it. Her talent is evident throughout the entire LP.
Which leaves the success of this violin-rap concept album up to those singing and rhyming over the notes. For the whole, the line-up of guests hold up and help deliver a decent listen.
1. Intro
2. We Gonna Win- Styles P is alone with Ari on the first song. I've never thought much of Styles P as a rapper and still don't after this track but Miri holds her own. 8/10.
3. Jump and Spread Out- Fatman Scoop and Vicious come with a hot dancehall/reggaeton sound on this track. Miri is awesome. 7/10.
4. Fly Away- Miri's best on the album. She's accompanied by Fabolous, who drops a better-than-average verse. Kanye drops a disapointing few lines. Musiq covers the chorus. 8/10.
5. Hold Your Head Up High- Lil' Mo whines terrible lyrics over a weak beat. The violin presence is little. 4/10.
6. Sunshine to the Rain- Scarface and Anthony Hamilton (who already have worked-well together) deliver a great song. Hamliton's voice sounds smooth over Ari's music. 9/10.
7. Lord of the Strings- a short poetic song with J.Ivy reciting a poem about Ari accompanied by Ari's violin. 8/10.
8. Chillin' in the Key of E- just Ari in E. No guests. Sounds great. 9/10.
9. Miss Melody- best song on the album. Akon sings over an almost-haunting repetitive piece by Ari. The beat, produced by Akon, is a perfect simple snare n' bass. The song is about 4 minutes long and is followed by a violin solo. 10/10.
10. New World Symphony- Pharoahe Monche guests on this track. The man has got to be the most underrated rapper around. His flow on this track is ridiculous. He raps to the violin rather than to the drum beat and it works. Not to down the beat, Kanye kills it. 9/10.
11. 4 Flat Tires- Cash Money and Miri Ben-Ari. Doesn't work. But Lil' Wayne's verse is good enough reason to go and buy the whole CD. 8/10.
12. She Was Just a Friend- Anthony Hamilton and Algebra combine with well with the string-light Ari on this one. Most R&B-type song on the album. 8/10.
13. I've Been Waiting For You- John Legend has a great voice and Consequence has great rhymes (he shows-up Kanye on this LP). Good song. 8/10.
14. Star-Spangled Banner- Doug E. Fresh beatboxes over Ari's violin. Her violin is amazing. His beatboxing ruins the song. 4/10.
15. Jump and Spread (Reggaeton Remix)- same song but even more Latin. Pitbull brings a very "crunk" sound to the final track on the album. Fatman Scoop is kind of annoying. Zion and Lennox also jump on this track. 9/10.
Overall, this album is worth buying because there is not another album like it. Miri Ben-Ari deserves a hand for her violinist skills and for being courageous enough to try this concept-album. It has some weak spots but the Akon, Anthony Hamilton, Lil' Wayne, Pharoahe Monche, and friends help save the whole.
4 out of 5.
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~ Daniel Bernard Roumain
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by Miri Ben-Ari 
