Platinum Pied Pipers - Triple P

Wednesday - August 17, 2005

J-23

As hip-hop explodes around the globe its only natural that some of the larger metropolises start producing an abundance of talented artists. Take Detroit, which is proving to be far more than just the Slim or the Slum. Enter Waajeed and Saadiq, the Platinum Pied Pipers. Both accomplished musicians, Waajeed garners the most attention as his resume includes being a founding member of Slum Village and frequent Dilla collaborator.

As is the case oft times these days, this album is not straight forward hip-hop by any means. In fact, it is pretty much tried and true soul music that features a few emcees (Jay Dee, MC Invincible, Ta’Raach). But the basslines and drum kicks that propel this album should make any hip-hop worth their spit drool all over their pulsating woofers. “Your Day Is Done” is a scorcher carried by songstress Georgia, but “Deep Inside” turns that into a 4 alarm blaze fueled by dirty, stinky funk. With the help of PPP’s rich thumps, Tiombe Lockhart croons out a better a better R&B song than I’ve heard in years on any commercial outlet with “Stay With Me”. That goes double – better yet, triple – for Rogiers incredible “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” or Zeno’s “Fever” for that matter.

As nicely as all the guest vocalists compliment Triple P, it is still Waajeed and Saadiq’s show. I’ll be shocked if their beat CD’s aren’t being heavily requested these days after folks hear “Lights Out” hiccup along or the angry keys making the “Detroit Winter” even colder. From front to back “Triple P” is easily fast-forward proof, and often rewind required. There is a reason that the almighty ?uestlove claims to have listened to the album seven times in a row when he got it. Excellent debut from the Detroit duo.