For anyone who grew up in the '90s, the loosely-defined genre of hip-hop usually brings to mind one band, and one band only: The Fugees. To this day, The Score is considered a hip-hop classic, having sold over 18 million copies worldwide since its debut in February of 1996. Behind the scenes, producing and throwing in the occasional verse and heady drum beat, sat John Forté. An unlikely early member of the Refugee Camp, Forté was a born-and-raised Brooklynite who studied violin at the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire on a full-ride. As a classically-trained musician, he showed an aptitude for layering intelligent, provocative lyrics with fundamental elements of reggae, soul and dub; Forté also sang back-up for various singers, including Michael Jackson, Carly Simon, Herbie Hancock and Eric Clapton.
When the troubled Fugees disbanded in '97, it was Wyclef Jean who stepped in and produced Forté's paltry solo attempt, Poly Sci. The album flopped, but worse than that, he was convicted in 2000 of possession of $1.4 million in liquid cocaine with intent and conspiracy to distribute. Though he maintained his innocence throughout the trial, Forté was convicted, found guilty and sentenced to a minimum of 14 years in prison. He made another album while awaiting his sentence, iJohn, which proved less successful than even Poly Sci. And with that, one of the most promising hip-hop influences of the decade simply disappeared behind bars.
I first took an interest in John Forté when, on November 24, 2008, outgoing President George W. Bush made him one of his 14 pardons (thereby directly refuting Kanye West's claim that Bush didn't care about black people). Two weeks later, after 7 years in prison, he re-emerged into the world and immediately began writing. The result, StyleFREE the EP, will be released on Forté's website in 2 days and will hit iTunes around August.
StyleFREE is a melodic blend of soul and rock, highly reminiscent of his Fugees days. Accoustic guitars, a sprinkling of cellos and violins, the ever-present soulful electric guitar, as well as the constant swelling and receding of a dub beat make this album just as musically diverse and interesting as The Score. Forté alternates between a pleasant singing voice (sounds like: John Legend), and a calm, pensive rapping voice (sounds like: Andre 3000). The flow is smooth and calculated, never hostile. Even though the lyrics off this album are almost entirely derived from his time spent behind bars, Forté manages to avoid the anger and fury that diminished the power of his earlier albums. The result is a solid EP of rap/hip-hop that shows huge progress for an artist long-struggling to come into his own.
Rating- 3.5 stars out of 5
Highlight Tracks- "Nervous," "Play My Cards For Me"
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