REVIEW: In Search Of Stoney Jackson By Strong Arm Steady

(Stones Throw)

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Strong Arm Steady’s In Search Of Stoney Jackson is made for a particular hip hop subscriber, and I’m sure it will find homes in many collections because Madlib made it.

Entirely produced by the genius gem producer of Stones Throw, Madlib, and featuring guest vocalists such as Planet Asia, Phonte from Little Brother and Talib Kweli - it would be very difficult for this to go wrong. Strong Arm Steady’s In Search Of Stoney Jackson is made for a particular hip hop subscriber, and I’m sure it will find homes in many collections because Madlib made it. I have to say the beats are very nice, but as a whole I don’t think it pushes the creative envelope as much as the press release would lead you to believe. Standouts for me were the instrumental ‘New Love’ and Talib’s feature ‘Get Started’. In fact, it’s probably not Talib’s best work, but on this record it is one of the better tracks and it is good to know he still cares after releasing the group’s debut album Deep Hearted on his own Blacksmith Records in 2007. Another interesting fact is that SAS was founded by rapper/actor Xzibit, who left the group in 2006. It is encouraging to see the West Coast underground is kicking…with a strong arm steady.

Hayley Dingwall