Album Review
UPTOWN MAG

Mood Ruff - I Do My Own Stunts [Slo Coach Records/urbnet records]
By - JK


A

Gotta love the mood ruff. Gotta love the fact this Peg City hip hop act doesn’t bother with the braggadocio and unnecessary posturing that poisons so much hip hop. Just check the love on Rocketship, a gently loping groove (with live bass) that explains the state of the mood ruff nation — “I love girls… I love beats, the type that make you think James Brown… I love life, and I live it my way.” That’s the credo of Odario, ICQRI (pronounced ‘I seek your eye’) and Spitz, the long-serving local trio whose joints and jams should soon be rockin’ the urban and pop charts. While the steaming, soulful BigBeat remix of Blow the Bins (featuring R&B wailer Lisa Prince) should make mood ruff a household name across Canada, that feat involves more politics than you could imagine. Suffice it to say, though, that this 15-cut set is MR’s most polished outing to date. The rhymes are sweet, the beats are fat and the vibe is good-natured and loving… always loving. They do their own stunts, and there ain’t no replacing them.