Rahzel: Make The Music 2000

Anyone lucky enough to catch The Roots in concert has had the pleasure of being blown away by Rahzel, the group's human beatbox. With an almost superhuman ability to replicate beats, samples, voices, and (it would seem) just about any noise produced on earth or elsewhere, Rahzel has to be seen to be believed. Which is part of what makes his solo debut, Make The Music 2000—its title is an homage to beatbox forebear Biz Markie—such a surprise. Not only has Rahzel found a way to translate his talents in the studio, but he's made a consistent album that would be well worth hearing even if it didn't lean on his abilities as a one-man music machine. Take the Pete Rock-produced summer hit "All I Know," for instance; knowing that it's Rahzel producing the "scratches" on the chorus makes it a mind-blowing accomplishment, but not knowing wouldn't get in the way of it being a great song. (Still, a good rule of thumb for MTM 2000 would be to assume that any mysterious noise probably comes from Rahzel.) Though a more than adequate rapper himself, Rahzel lets guest stars take the spotlight on most tracks, which include performances by Slick Rick (who plays David Hasselhoff to Rahzel's KITT on "Night Riders"), Me'Shell NdegéOcello and Branford Marsalis (on the sublime "Steal My Soul"), Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, and The Roots en toto. Rounding out MTM 2000 are live tracks that display Rahzel's abilities in the raw. These, like the album as a whole, could have had a "you had to be there" vibe about them, but they don't. This is the sound of the sideshow moving to center stage, and stealing it.