Finally a female MC who isn’t obsessed with money, power or sex — T-Love’s just a b-girl with skills.
Available: 1998-06-30
Pickininny Records
Believe it or not, I bought this EP without ever hearing anything by, or about, T-Love or her producer, This Kid Named Miles. The title caught my eye and something about the packaging just told me to buy it. (Maybe because she wasn’t using sex to sell). Seeing a couple recognizable and respectable names, Charlie 2na (of Jurassic 5) and Kool Keith, cinched it.
T-Love’s lyrics range from clever (”I get down as if I was in an armed robbery / Styles so fat they clog an artery”) to silly (”I rise like yeast, they crumble like toast”) but overall she gets over with her dynamic delivery. She shifts her emphasis and fluctuates her flow, which seperates her from many MC’s whose tone can grow boring to the ears; granted, this is an EP, but I have no doubt that T-Love would remain very listenable over the course of a full album. The live instrumentation — bass, upright cello, guitars and drums all played by This Kid Named Miles — complements T-Love perfectly. Throw in some scratching and you’ve got a complete hip-hop package.
The best example of how it all comes together is the title track, which is propelled by a plucked bass and held together by a couple samples (”wick wick wack” and “you’re so wack that it’s bound to show”) on the chorus. The KRS soundbite might be old, but with Kool Keith, you’re guaranteed the next shit. Though T represents, Keith steals the show, calling kids out as only he can: “Yo, T-Love, these assholes are dirt specks on my rugs”.
Return of the B-Girl’s old-school vibe and live, jazzy beats set it apart from the rest of the market. On top of that, T-Love is a female MC who isn’t obsessed with money, power or sex — she’s just a b-girl with skills. And her partner Miles is obviously multi-talented. Hopefully a full LP from these two is on its way.
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