2010 was an interesting year, to say the least. Musically, I invested more in records and somehow increased my music IQ by getting rid of the superficial approach and taking more time to absorb albums, artists and even entire genres (or sub-genres). Unfortunately, I missed out on most of the releases of 2010 because I was too busy checking out classic shit such as Group Home. But fear not, there will be plenty of "recent" releases on this blog after this post right here (save for a future MF DOOM post...I can't believe I haven't posted that yet but I just can't think of a write-up that would do it justice). Anyway, I digress. On to tonight's feature presentation...
Group Home are "affiliates" of hip-hop legends Gang Starr. One of the members, Lil' Dap, made his debut on a track on the classic Daily Operation album and Group Home have since then made several appearances on Gang Starr's tracks. And as far as affiliations go, all* of Livin' Proof was produced by DJ Premier, one half of Gang Starr and probably your favourite producer's favourite producer. That is actually the focal point of this record: the production. The rhymes are surprisingly average for a 1995 record (smack-dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Hip Hop) but the production is impeccable. Premo's work on Livin' Proof is timeless and, as Allmusic said, a "rhythmic masterpiece".
All in all, Livin' Proof is a very enjoyable listen. The beats are great to bob your head along to and the lyrics are good but, like I said earlier, the rhymes are average. Don't let that stop you from copping this though because it comes very highly recommended, if only for the production work.
*Premo produced all but 2 of the 13 tracks, one of which was actually produced by Guru (R.I.P.)
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