Artist:Freestyle Fellowship
Song:Inner City Boundaries
Album:Inner City Griots
Freestyle Fellowship are a jazz influenced rap group who were on the fringes of the early 90s Los Angeles hip hip when Gangsta Rap was king. One of the things I like about Freestyle Fellowship is they use real jazz musicians playing real instruments instead of sampling everything. All four guys attended high school together in Los Angeles. They were identified only by their nicknames but I like to use real names. They were Edwin "Aceyalone" Hayes Jr., Michael "Myka 9" Troy, Mtulazaji "P.E.A.C.E." Davis and Ornette "Self Jupiter" Glenn. They called themselves MC Aces and changed it to Freestyle Fellowship when Davis joined. They self released the 1991 album To Whom It May Concern in limited quantity. There was enough buzz that they got a record deal with Island's 4th & Broadway label. Inner City Griots was their second album in 1993. A griot is a West African poet. The jazz influence makes them closer to The Last Poets than typical rap groups. And unlike US3, Freestyle Fellowship uses real musicians. The guest rapper on Inner City Boundaries is Glenn "Daddy-O" Bolton of Stetsasonic. The song was co-written by sax and flute player Randall Willis. He was a member of Gerald Wilson's 90s orchestra. This album is available as a digital download. Freestyle Fellowship looked like they were going places when Glenn was incarcerated and they split up. By the time they reunited in 2001, their time had passed. Freestyle Fellowship last recorded in 2011. So I don't think they are active. Here's the video for Inner City Boundaries by Freestyle Fellowship.
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