The good thing about listening to an instrument being played is you never know how old the person is who is playing. Based on their skill and how well they play, you can guess. The better they play, the more practice they’ve had, so the older they must be. With that logic, Roy Hargrove, the man behind the RH Factor, must be 80 years old. The way he plays the trumpet on “Hard Groove” makes him seem unstoppable. Surprisingly, he is just 33 years old.

Guest vocals include some of the hottest names in urban music including Erykah Badu, D’Angelo, Q-Tip, and Common, who raps on “Common Free Style.”

It’s hip-hop meets soul meets jazz meets funk. Think Tower of Power meets, well, Common. Hargrove is a musical mastermind and he has decades more to continue proving himself.

4*/5*
Verve/Universal
Release Date: May 20, 2003






Related Stories: