Review: Miri Ben-Ari - "The Hip-Hop Violinist"

We, the black delegation, choose...

Miri Ben-Ari? So it seems, as the Israeli phenom has now cemented her place in the world of hip-hop. Although members of the Jewish faith have been a part of the hip-hop culture since its humble beginnings, most notably the Beastie Boys and producer Rick Rubin, they have done so through traditional channels, whether it be in front of a microphone or behind turntables. And that is what makes Ben-Ari so unique; she doesn't rap or deejay. She doesn't even sing. She plays the violin.

And that's really what The Hip-Hop Violinist boils down to. It's the manifestation of a gimmick into a full length album, but it works.

You've probably recognized Ben-Ari's playing from her appearance on Twista's "Overnight Celebrity". Take that, mix and match several different artists, and you pretty much get the gist of the album. In other words, The Hip-Hop Violinist plays like a mixtape in a way, as the album goes many different directions in terms of style.

The two singles off the album thus far are "We Gonna Win" (featuring Styles P.) and "Sunshine to the Rain" (featuring Scarface and Anthony Hamilton). I'm not too much of a fan of "We Gonna Win", which sounds suspiciously like "Higher" by The Game. On the other hand, "Sunshine to the Rain" is catchy and has that "On My Block" vibe.

"Jump & Spread Out", features Fatman Scoop and a reggae singer named Vicious. It's an interesting enough song, sounding like a combination of reggae and the Middle East (whatever that means). However, it is that song's reggaeton remix, which includes Zion and Lennox, that really shines. Really, it's the same song with a slightly different artist arrangement, but it somehow sounds much improved.

There are a couple of tracks produced by Kanye West. The first West track to appear, "Fly Away", includes Fabolous, Musiq, and West himself. "New World Symphony", which features Pharoahe Monch, is the better of the two. It sounds like vintage College Dropout Kanye, including choir-esque background vocals and, obviously, Ben-Ari's violin (her playing and production actually appears on 90% of The College Dropout). Too bad it was already featured on the Fantasic 4 Official Sountrack, otherwise I would have been more pumped about it.

"I've Been Waiting for You", which features Consequences and John Legend, is a solid track. I'm not a fan of the hook, but Consequences verses work well with the song.

The weakest tracks on the album are those featuring exclusively R&B artists. While "Miss Melody" (featuring Akon) is catchy, I really wasn't feeling "She Was Just a Friend" (featuring Anthony Hamilton and Algebra) and "Hold Your Head Up High" (featuring Lil' Mo).

I absolutely hated the "4 Flat Tires" with Baby, Lil' Wayne, and 6-Shot. I really don't know how to describe this track except it doesn't sound like a Cash Money record. (And my goodness, 6-Shot is bad)

An interesting track is Ben-Ari's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" with Doug E. Fresh. While it isn't an instant classic like Marvin Gaye and Whitney Houston live performances of said song, it is certainly worth a listen.

Overall, The Hip-Hop Violinist is a decent album. Although none of the songs are particularly noteworthy, they are at least consistantly slightly above-average. Bruce Leroy is satisfied.



Oh, and on strange note, I dug up this article from over a year and a half ago which claims that Mya was also supposed to appear on the album. Which leads me to this question, what happened to Mya? The last we saw her, she appeared in a shitty horror film. Enquiring minds want to know.