by Daniel Harris
Producer and Nashville native Amerigo Gazaway first made waves in 2011 when he fused the music of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti with Hip Hop legends De La Soul. Fela Soul received critical acclaim from Roots' drummer Questlove and was declared a "virtual web hit" by MTV. Three years removed from the success of Fela Soul, Amerigo Gazaway is back once more with another installment to his "Soul Mates" series.
In his latest release, Yasiin Gaye: The Departure (Side One), Amerigo Gazaway masterfully blends the music of Marvin Gaye and Yasiin Bey (formerly Mos Def). Both iconic figures in the respective genres, Yasiin Gaye is an ingenious tribute to Marvin and Yasiin's contributions to music. Considering this album as just another "mash-up" would be a mistake and a disservice.
Gazaway strikes a beautiful balance that goes way beyond mashing two different beats together. It is much more than that, much deeper. Gazaway gives this album solid structure that is built on a frame of anatomized samples of Marvin Gaye's classic and soulful Motown sound and methodically weaves in Yasiin Bey's clever wordplay. Each track on Yasiin Gaye is crafted in such a way as to not give too much Hip Hop or too much classic Soul.
Music is often viewed as groups of separate entities. Even when the roots of some styles can be traced back to having the same origin, archaic notions of contradiction still exist. With Yasiin Gaye, Amerigo Gazaway bridges two quintessential genres, creating a true departure from these mundane views.
Yasiin Gaye: The Departure (Side One) is available NOW for download.
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