Music Review: Robert Glasper Experiment – Black Radio 2

Robert Glasper Experiment has witness a slight “meteoric rise” in popularity. Things became different once he released the sonically profound and rewind worthy album Black Radio. After that, it has been about nothing but collaborations (Terrace Martin and Bilal among them) and more music (Black Radio Remix EP). Yet and still, Robert Glasper and his crew of cohorts took time to make music that is as organic (all instrumentation was played lived and nothing was sampled) as it is compelling. Adding familiar faces with some surprise guests, Black Radio 2 is another supple addition to the catalog that has fans claiming Robert Glasper to be the “resuscitator of R&B music”.

Intriguingly enough, he is a jazz artist. And that part, right there, is what makes everything so entrancing when his music comes on.

The beauty of this album is that it reaches out to different artists to hone sounds that they are most familiar with. If you notice the production on the Brandy featured “What Are We Doing” is much more upbeat than the slow and melodically enriching “Calls” by Jill Scott. The Norah Jones featured “Let It Ride” actually takes a page from the drum –n- bass movement to come up with some impressive rhythms. While Dwele gets into a stepper’s groove with “Worries”, Marsha Ambrosius croons over a track that calls for heart mending, piano backdrops, and rain drops just to accentuate the mood. Evidently, Glasper kept things tight by focusing on each artist’s strengths and musical passions.

What I did find interesting was the bigger influx of emcees featured on this project. Featuring Lupe on the album is nothing new since he was present on the last long player. However, Glasper mixed things up by adding him with Luke James and Snoop Dogg on “Persevere”. Common and Patrick Stump made a proficiently uplifting anthem in “I Stand Alone”. Yet, it is the combination of Jean Grae and Macy Gray that comes as the biggest surprise. Both ladies come together to make “I Don’t Even Care”, ensuring that the album doesn’t become too predictable in its own greatness.

Robert Glasper Experiment wins by doing what was, and wasn’t expected. In true form, Glasper featured some of the best that R&B has to offer. What was not expected was the feature of names that many haven’t even looked toward musically (in recent years). Even further, the crew brought out some of hip hop’s most efficient to give the people something to feel. With all of this said, Robert Glasper Experiment wins again with their second serving of Black Radio.