If you’re new to TimeIsIllmatic, I’m Deedub, a self-proclaimed hip-hop junkie who loves collecting CDs and vinyl. I collect other genres of music as well (i.e., R&B, seventies soul, pop, a bit of rock, and jazz), but a large chunk of my collection is hip-hop based. I’ve never listened to a lot of it, which is the main reason I started this blog (as an organized way to work my way through it). Hip-hop albums will continue to be the focus of this blog, with an occasional exception. Like the subject of this post, but it’s still hip-hop-adjacent.

Leschea, whose name you may remember as part of Masta Ace’s short-lived crew I.N.C. (or Masta Ace Incorporated), was the crew’s seldom-used vocalist. The first time I heard her sing was on the SlaughtaHouse album, where she was threatening to smoke wack niggas on “Don’t Fuck Around.” She would make a few more appearances on their second album, Sittin’ On Chrome, and after two underappreciated projects, Masta Ace Incorporated would go out of business. The I.N.C. may have been going out of business, but Ace and Leschea were about to make things super personal as they began dating, and in 2001 they made it official with marriage. But before the marriage, Leschea’s contributions to the Masta Ace Incorporated albums helped her parlay a deal with Warner Bros., and in ‘97 she’d release her debut solo album, Rhythm & Beats.

Masta Ace served as one of the executive producers for Rhythm & Beats and produced half the album. Lord Finesse and The King of Chill are among the other names with producer credits on the album. R&B produced a couple of singles that made very little noise, and the album came and went with very little fanfare.

R&B is another album that I didn’t know existed until about 8 months ago when I came across a used CD copy at one of my favorite record stores (shoutout to Cheapos!). Leschea’s name was familiar; I.N.C. is a brand that I trust, and her husband is an underrated legend. Hopefully, Leschea can live up to her affiliations on her debut.

My Flow Intro – The first five times this came on in the car, I thought my door was ajar due to the dinging noise the song begins with. Megahertz (which is an ill ass alias for a producer) quickly turns the ding into a dope instrumental built around a hypnotically ominous bass guitar loop. The first voice you hear is Leschea’s homegirl (Nikki?), and she introduces the listener to the album, shares words of confirmation to her friend, and shits on “easy pickin’ bitches livin’ in a Versace world.” Then Leschea’s fellow I.N.C alum, Paula Perry, gets off a solid verse before Leschea does a little riffing and borrows the melody from Luther Vandross’ classic “Never Too Much.” Leschea stays in pocket for most of her bit. She gets a little carried away towards the end but reels herself back in before things get out of control.

U Know The Place – Leschea’s joined by her future hubby on this one. Masta Ace gets off two verses listing some of the attributes that define his home borough of Brooklyn. Schea immediately forgets the theme of the record, so instead of crooning about BK, she sings about hanging with her crew. I like the electro-funk feel in Ace’s instrumental, and he sounds dope rapping over it. I know it’s Leschea’s album, but she should have let Ace write a focused hook for her to sing and play the background, while he shines with the bars.

Gimmie Bass – Someone going by the alias of Dirtman is credited for the melodic, warm, and bassy backdrop (the loop, or at least the melody in the loop, sounds a lot like the O.C. Smith piano loop used for Channel Live’s “Sex For The Sport”). Our hostess uses it to boast of her skills, shit on other female R&B singers, and lets us know how much she loves bass (not to be confused with the fish or crack). The lyrics were cheesy, and again, her voice gets a little shaky at certain points. But regardless of Leschea’s performance, I absolutely love the infectious instrumental.

How We Stay – This was one of the singles released from R&B. Ace recycles the James Brown loop used for Biggie’s “Just Playing (Dreams)” for Leschea to sing over. She doesn’t really have anything worthwhile to say, but at least she doesn’t try anything vocally risky.

Let Me Sing It 2 U – Ace flips Isaac Hayes’ “Look Of Love,” the same loop Irv Gotti (RIP) used for Reasonable Doubt’s “Can I Live,” and years later, would shamelessly use again for Ashanti’s hit single, “Rain On Me.” Leschea takes a crack at the sure-shot soul sample and fails miserably. She continues to struggle vocally, and her random lyrics sound like a spontaneous spoken-word poem. This one ends with a skit of Leschea getting a phone call from her girl who caps about some drama she witnessed at the mall. The skit’s not even remotely funny.

Fulton St. – This was R&B’s other single. Our hostess shares a tale about stalking, I mean, meeting her dream man on this busy Brooklyn street. The lyrics are repetitive and corny, but I dug the jazzy, bass-heavy backdrop. This ends with Leschea doing a full-blown Fila ad as she lists all the Fila apparel and accessories she owns, over a simple drum beat and a Roxanne Shante vocal loop that supports her love for the brand. I didn’t know Fila was still a thing in ‘97 (or maybe I just forgot), but I damn sure hope they paid her for this full-throated endorsement.

Let Me Know – There are samples so perfectly flipped and paired with the perfect rhyme that they should never be allowed to be used again. For example: The Patrice Rushen loop that Q-Tip (Tribe Degrees of Separation) used for Mobb Deep’s “Temperature’s Rising.” Fabian Hamilton repurposes the loop on this track as Leschea contemplates whether or not she should leave her street pharmacist boyfriend, played by Ike Dirty, who spits a verse trying to convince her to be his ride or die. Conceptually, the song wasn’t bad, but Leschea and the female vocalist who joins her during the hook (and wisely stays anonymous in the album credits) sound horrendous and completely desecrate the sacred ground that is Ms. Rushen’s “Where There Is Love.” Give it a listen, and I’m sure you’ll agree that I’m not exaggerating.

3 To 5 – Leschea sings about waiting for her incarcerated lover over a dark Sly Johnson loop (with production credits going to Masta Ace and Mister Cee (RIP)) that will forever be remembered in the annals of hip-hop as the foundation for Raekwon’s “Heaven & Hell” off his classic solo debut, OBFCL. Her storyline’s actually decent, but similar to the previous track, this loop belongs to RZA, Raekwon, Ghostface, and Blue Raspberry. Period.

All On You – Leschea doesn’t cover any new territory with this one. She caught her man cheating, moves on from him, and the best way to get over your ex is to get under the next, which is what she does on this track. This song is probably the best that Leschea has sounded vocally on the album. The concept’s not original, but it works, thanks largely to the Megahertz/G.M. produced instrumental, built around a dope Jones Girls loop (their name surfaces again…I’ve really gotta dig into their catalog).

All This Love – I don’t know if Leschea meant them to be, but this track and the previous four tracks tie together in a nice little story line: She falls for a street hustler on “Fulton St.” (he’s gotta be a hustler if he’s constantly crusin’ up and down the same street in his jeep everyday) and struggles with his lifestyle and occupation on “Let Me Know.” He gets caught and locked up on “3 To 5,” and when he finally gets out, he cheats on her, she leaves him, and finds a new man on “All On You.” And finally, she dedicates this hip-hop ballad to her newfound love, whom she eagerly awaits to blow her back out. Ace (the producer of this track and the album’s EP) is a master (no pun) of conceptual albums, so maybe this five-song string was an orchestrated suite and not happenstance. The track is followed by another skit that fails to bring any comic relief.

High Velocity – Earlier in this review, I said some loops aren’t meant to be recycled. But there are some dope ones that I don’t mind hearing used again. Like the Busy Bee “Chief Rocker” loop that Ace reuses for this track. Leschea’s lyrics were forgettable, but the catchy hook and dope beat make this record entertaining.

Hip Hop – Lord Finesse gets his sole production credit of the night, and it’s a thing of beauty. He slides Leschea a smooth melodic groove that she uses to harmonize about not only loving hip-hop, but also living this subculture. Some of the lyrics get weird, but Finesse’s instrumental is so soothingly amazing, it blots out all her minor lyrical transgressions.

Schea’s World – Schea closes R&B by singing about her wish to teleport to a fictional world where there is no crime, race doesn’t exist, jealousy is not allowed, it’s an ill yet serene atmosphere, and…little kids can trade in candy for loaded nines? Her words, not mine. Oh. And according to the hook, she wants to exist in this dream world by herself, which, if she did, would take care of the crime, racism, jealousy, and kids trading in a bag of Skittles for loaded nines (I sure hope that candy/gun line was a mistake). The King of Chill uses the same Heath Brothers sample that Q-Tip used for Nas’ stellar single, “One Love.” The loop has been used a few times since “One Love” (see Redman’s “Soopaman Luva 3,” and the Bud’da-produced track, “Do 4 Love” from Dr. Dre’s Aftermath compilation project), but like Patrice Rushen’s “There Is Love,” it should have been hung in the hip-hop sample rafters after its original usage.

On “Give Me Bass,” Leschea sings, “You can have the best vocals around, but it don’t mean a thing if your beats are wack.” Well, that theory also works vice versa.

Leschea only made a few appearances on Masta Ace Incorporated’s two group projects, with her main contributions coming on Slaughtahouse’s “Don’t Fuck Around” and “Turn It Up” from Sittin’ On Chrome. Other than the end of the latter record when she attempts to hit a big note before reeling it back in when her voice begins to get shaky, she always played it safe, staying in a limited vocal lane. On Rhythm & Beats, Leschea takes center stage, and all her vocal flaws get exposed.

Leschea doesn’t have a big voice or a wide vocal range, which becomes blatantly obvious early on Rhythm. A few times on the album, she ventures outside of her safe space, and to describe those moments as cringeworthy would be an understatement (prime example: “Let Me Know”). Even when she stays in her vocal safe zone, the lyrics sound corny, half-baked, or like she’s coming off the top of the dome. Her feeble songwriting paired with her lack of charm left me yearning to hear Ace, Paula Perry, and Lord Digga provide her with more moral support.

There is flagrant recycling of several already proven winning samples on R&B, which detracts from the album’s musical integrity, even if still sonically sound. The formulaic beats are mixed in amongst some original bangers, making for a solid production bed overall. So at least the music will entertain when Leschea fails to.

I remember the first time I heard Mary J Blige’s voice soulfully belting the hook on Father M.C.’s “I’ll Do 4 U.” It wasn’t the strongest vocal I’d ever heard, but it was heartfelt and had a rough, warm quality that captivated. So much so, in time, she’d be crowned the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. I blame MJB for making it look so easy to sing with swag over hip-hop beats. Leschea’s performance on R&B is proof that it’s not.

-Deedub
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