Black Sheep Dres & Jaleel Shaw Take Rap-Jazz Fusion To A New Frontier (Audio Premiere)
With his group Black Sheep, Dres helped lead a charge in the early 1990s that brought about awareness in Jazz, Funk, Dance, and a gestalt of Hip-Hop’s influence. Nearly 25 years after A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing, and D-R-E-S is still at it. Recently, the New York MC veteran came upon some Jazz recordings by Jaleel Shaw. A decorated professional saxophonist, Jaleel plays frequently with Robert Glasper, among others.
In 2008, Shaw released Optimism, his sophomore album, which featured Glasper on the song, “Flight.” That particular recording attracted Dres, who opted—with consent—to rhyme on the sax-and-keys number. This version, “Flight (Energy)” prompted Black Sheep Dres to evocatively spin a tale about romance, courtship, and the element of surprise. Here, the Native Tongues member rocks the animated, highly articulate flow that made him a Rap mainstay. Fans of Hip-Hop, both Jaleel and Robert Glasper were fans of the results.
The remastered song is available for free download on Dres’ Soundcloud, as well as Jaleel Shaw’s Soundcloud page—which has plenty more music from the horn specialist.
As Eminem made “Stan” from Dido’s “Thank You,” Rhymefest reworked Citizen Cope’s “Bullet And A Target” for his own version (with the band), and Ghostface Killah took Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good” in a new direction, is this the latest extension of fusion working in Hip-Hop’s favor?