Simon S of Futuristica has shown to be on the cutting edge of soul music with releases by Electric Conversation and Low Budget Soul, just to name a few. It appears that he has a good ear for quality hip hop as well because “The Unclosed Mind” by Cleveland native Replife is easily one of the biggest releases this year. With an all star production team featuring Dego, Kaidi Tatham, Mark De Clive Lowe and Atjazz, Replife takes chances on this disc that few rappers dare to take. On “Elevation”, Replife is joined by Deborah Jordan and Noni Limar on this mellow soul jazz flavored track. The Dego produced “Spirit” is a funky synth laden tribute to the late J Dilla. “Out Of Soul”, produced by Don Ray is a wonderful slice of broken soul with a touch of jazz thanks to the trumpet playing of Sean Winters and the scatting of Ki Allen. Some of you may remember Replife from The Politik release last year. The promise he displayed on that project is fulfilled beyond expectations here. Replife sounds wise beyond his years in his delivery and his lyrics offer insight to the depth of knowledge and intelligence the man brings to the table. It all adds up to an outstanding record that delivers quality hip hop and progressive beats from start to finish. There’s no doubt that this disc will remain in the cd rotation for quite some time.
