Camp Lo - Black Hollywood

Camp Lo is back! The Sonny Cheeba and Geechie Suede duo return with their highly anticipated album called "Black Hollywood", produced exclusively by the legendary Ski Beatz. Fans of Camp Lo's 1996 debut classic "Uptown Saturday Night" album will surely be satisfied by the group's return with an updated version of their infectious Bronx soul that the group is known for and their lyrics that consist partly of Blaxploitation-style Dadaist slang. Making their first appearance on "The Great White Hype" soundtrack, their smooth party song single "Coolie High" was a minor hit, peaking at #25 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart. The first major exposure came with the release of their second single, the upbeat and horn driven "Luchini aka This Is It." The song became a crossover hit in 1997, breaking into the top 50 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reaching the top 5 on the Hot Rap Singles chart. The duo released their debut album in January 1997. The effort was widely acclaimed, praised for their light accessible content and their smooth, funk and jazz inspired production. They went on to release a sophomore album called "Let's Do It Again" in 2002. Jump ahead to 2007 and be prepared for the arrival of a new Camp Lo, produced by the one and only Ski Beatz. Previously known just as Ski, Ski Beatz is best known for his work with Jay-Z on the album "Reasonable Doubt." He's also produced tracks for AZ, Lil' Kim, Fat Joe, Foxy Brown and of course he did almost the entire Camp Lo debut album "Uptown Saturday Night." Product Description

Roll out the red carpet...

Camp Lo will probably forever be remembered by hip-hop audiences for "Luchini". But the problem they have now is whether or not they can be said to still have a fanbase because they have taken half a decade off between each album. Thankfully, their latest album Black Hollywood is full of good stuff.

Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede still have the goods to paint vivid lyrical pictures, especially when it comes to stories. Case in point: while songs about gold-digging women are beginning to get played out, "Material" is rather interesting. And "Jack n' Jill" is a love story not to be taken lightly. Other highlights include "Sweet Claudine", "Posse from the Bronx" and the metaphorically dope "Pushahoe".

While only 35 minutes in length, Camp Lo proves with this album that they still know how to drop on-point rhymes. Though at times they might be showing signs of age (see "Soul Fever"), you still shouldn't mind taking a trip to Black Hollywood.

Anthony Rupert March 17, 2008

"Punker than Punk Rock... Hipper than Hippies..."

Camp Lo's first album, Uptown Saturday Night, was one of those albums that instantly blew my mind... it was hip, fresh, catchy, and MC's Sonny Cheeba and Geechie Suede complimented each others voices and flows so well that the whole album felt like catching lightning in a bottle and putting it to wax. Before they could truly be appreciated... they were gone. Fast forward five years and they dropped their sophomore release, Let's Do It Again, but unfortuantely it had such big shoes to fill after the classic debut (not to mention years too late and pretty weak lyrically and production wise) that it was a let down for the fans still waiting around for something new. Well, fast forward five more years and we've got a new album of material for the even fewer fans still hanging around for new material (myself sadly included). This is one of those albums that dropped out of nowhere, with little to no press or promotion (that I saw at least), and it's too bad really because it's a step back in the right direction for the crew. The first 3 tracks off of Black Hollywood are nearly as good as anything from thier debut (track 2, "82 Afros" is actually one of the best Camp Lo tracks ever with a backdrop of guitar feedback and a sample of a guy counting "1, 2, 3, 4") and set the bar high for the rest of the album to follow. From there on it's a mix... "Suga Willie's Revenge", "Material" and the title track, "Black Hollywood" all bang incredibly hard while the final track on the disc, "Claudine", takes us out on a definate high note. In between we get some decent to passable tracks that either falter due to some sub-par production (Ski Beatz produces everything here and overall does a pretty impressive job) or ho-hum lyrics ("Jack N' Jill", "Ganja Lounge", and "Zoom") but nothing bad enough to have you instantly reaching for the skip button. All in all a short and sweet return for Camp Lo (album clocks in at 35 minutes and 12 tracks deep) that I like more and more everytime I listen to it. Here's hoping it gets enough positive attention to press the boys for another album sooner than their usual five-year hiatus (2012!?). November 15, 2007

The Campers show the world they're here to stay...

After a stellar effort with the release of "Fort Apache" last fall, the Camp proved they could still dish it out with excellent flows, catchy hooks and head-noddin' beats. The mixtape was exclusively available on internet only. Several months later lead to talks of another mixtape in the works, this time available as a CD release. "In Black Hollywood" falls between Uptown Saturday Night and Ft. Apache (the new album contain s 7 new tracks and 5 from Ft. Apache). A lot of reviewers mentioned the redundancy of having the Apache tracks on this album, but in an interview, Camp Lo states that Good Hands records loved certain tracks on the previous mixtape so much, they wanted 'em combined with the new on Black Hollywood. So that's understandable, especially if fans missed the internet fare of Apache.

Posse from the Bronx - Reminiscent of "Krystal Karrington" and "Gotcha", the killer, bassed-out opening track of the album that propells you forward into the rest of the album. The stuttering technique is different and gets you awed in anticipation, leaving a good taste that the Lo is know for.

82 Afros - 1st of the 5 tracks featured on the Apache mixtape. I'm not too crazy about this track but it's growing on me. I would have considered "Good Green", "Digi Know" or "Lo Lean" as the next track. Ski demonstrates his lyrical capabilities near the end, with satisfying results.

Soul Fever - Reminiscent of "Soul Train" from Let's Do It Again. The perfect Foxy Brown-esque, boogie-down track for the clubs. Love the samples used in the background.

Pushahoe - Reminiscent of "Zoom" and "Rockin' It". If the Lo collaborated with Run DMC back in the '80's, this is the track that would have been created. True old-school flavor for that break-dancing sensationalism. Albeit, the Lo's lyrics aren't as stylized as from year's past on this song, but the content and flow are still apparent. My only gripe is that end of the track is a little too long with the repeating chrous.

Suga Willie's Revenge - 2nd of the 5 tracks featured on the Apache mixtape. The possible updated intro perfect for a Shaft/Superfly soundtrack. Nice flutes and guitar riffs. Another song that grew on me after a while. Jungle Brown makes an appearance, and he's gotten better over the years. Glad to see he's still rhymin' with the campers.

Jack 'N' Jill - Reminiscent of "Kill 'Em Softly", the dark, gritty track that lies between the middle of the record. Excellent storytelling of pimping and prostituting gone awry.

Material - 3rd of the 5 tracks featured on the Apache mixtape. When I first heard this, the sample sounded like it was used from Tevin Campbell's "Can We Talk?". Not officially confirmed (there's no information in the CD's sleeve jacket on production credits) but I'm sure it is. Laid back storytelling about materialistic females. The song for the summer.

Money Clap - Reminiscent of "Luchini" and "Glow"; the main reason is because money is the subject. Catchy chorus, great dramatic tempos while albeit, not very complex lyrically, still showing the fans how to have fun, although Cheeba steals the show with some heavy '70's references.

Ganja Lounge - 4th of the 5 tracks featured on the Apache mixtape and reminiscent of "Coolie High" with a touch of Bob Marley. It also reminds me of "Carnival 4 Sha" in terms of the unique production. One small flaw is the fading out at the beginning of this song with "I Couldn't Carless" from Apache. Even it being a few seconds into the song, it could been noticed and corrected.

Black Hollywood - The first single (b/w Soul Fever) to be released. Production nearly mimics that of Just Blaze, but not a bad thing. Another track reminiscent of "Luchini" with the horn-driven tempo. Suede shows he's can still creatively display his unique slanguage. A song perfect for Jay-Z to collaborate on, and it makes you think: Will Jay and the Camp ever collab on a song? I guess we'll never know.

Zoom - 5th of the 5 tracks featured on the Apache mixtape. Another '80's driven track like that of "Pushahoe" with plenty of nostaglic references pertaining to that era.

Sweet Claudine - Reminiscent of "8 Moons Ago", but more on tune with "Skybox", the closer on LDIA that finished the album on a good note. Based on the movie, perhaps of the same name, the campers switch back and forth telling the story of a young woman down on her luck. Great production, not too sappy and preachy and gives the listener yearning for more once the song comes to an end.

It's inevitable; the Luchini brothers may never hit the world as heavy as they did 10 years ago with the critically acclaimed USN, but instead of giving up due to label discrepancies that nearly sealed their fate, they stayed in the dying light of what is now commericialized hip-hop, and this proves that creative control and dedicated fans can go a long way.

Next year, the Lo plans on releasing "Another Heist", a 7-track EP. Although it's sparingly on the number of songs, it's refreshing to know that creative hip-hop still exists along the terms of Talib Kweli, Common, Little Brother, Kanye West, Nas and others (famous or not) still holding it down.

Live on Camp Lo. We can dig it. October 6, 2007

A COOL , ORIGINAL BRONX STYLE REFRESHES THE SQUALOR OF THE TOPICAL HIP HOP SCENE !!!!!!

This cd is hot and cool, the beats are fresh and the lyrics are full of style !
For example, if you listen to Jay-Z albums ( God let us a close shave !), you cry buckets out of despair of the beats and of the lyrics, but if you play this one, the life smiles on you.
The topical Hip Hop is rapresented in wrong way by worthless rappers that don't know where the good taste resides !!!
Camp Lo is a duo from the Bronx (NYC)constituted by Sonny Cheeba and Geechi Suede and they use slang often to the point of incomprehensibility. The result is a amalgamated mixture of rhymes, that slips on the beats as oil !!!
Enjoy it !!!

P.S.:Check up my rap listmania, just clicking on my nickname and clicking above my listmania, also at the American version of this excellent website. Here there are 40 Hip-Hop albums choosed by me just for winning people and not for fans of the mortal masochism rap !!!
I assure that in my rap albums' list you will find the best American Hip-Hop albums. There are dance beats and strong ones and lyrics just for the winninf person in the life !!! August 19, 2007

Gimme More Gimme More

AAwww at last, my boys are BACK! A little of the old, a little of the new... New beats yet the same soulfull swagger! The album was long overdue but well worth the wait. Big ups to the LO! This is definately a keeper! July 31, 2007

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