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To Whom It May Concern

by

The Freestyle Fellowship

 
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To Whom It May Concern

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Avg: 4.0 (42 ratings)

A life-changing, awe-inspiring classic

  • We Say...

    Review by Jon Caramanica

    While the rest of Los Angeles was drowning in self-conscious gangsterism in the late '80s and early '90s, a small oasis of progressivism was growing in South Central. Freestyle Fellowship were at the forefront of this counter-scene, a group of advanced-placement MCs rapping with rapid jazz cadences and "experimenting with tonal and harmonic inflections." Sound dull? Only in concept. Aceyalone, Mikah 9, Self Jupiter, P.E.A.C.E. and J. Sumbi were awe-inspiring MCs. "We Will Not Tolerate" is a case study in lyrical one-upmanship — speedy one moment, languorous the next, sometimes spelling words out in full — rapped entirely in tandem.

    The solo tracks are equally thrilling — Aceyalone's "My Fantasy" is an exuberant trip from the beat-banging in the school bathroom to b-boying in outer space. J. Sumbi makes the group's implicit politics vividly explicit on "Legal Alien," and Mikah 9 finds the middle point between singing and rapping on "7th Seal." Considering what a lo-fi production To Whom... was — a total of 800 copies were originally distributed solely on vinyl and cassette — the beats were outstanding and precociously radio-ready, employing samples used years later by Xzibit ("For No Reason") and Ghostface Killah ("Dedications"). But while the gangsters from the other side of town loudly defined an era, the Fellowship and their brethren became extremely talented footnotes. To Whom... was the first chapter of a tale that was never to properly unfold.

  • They Say...

    Review by Scott Thill, All Music Guide

    Freestyle Fellowship's first album is a potent glimpse into the subcultural, conscientious side of Los Angeles hip-hop, one that would later be eclipsed by gangsta boogie from the likes of Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and all the pretenders who followed in their wake. As such, the joint -- like much of the work from De La Soul, the Pharcyde, A Tribe Called Quest, and other equally diverse artists of the period -- is a snapshot of a burgeoning art form's purity before it capitulated to the market and rolled out its gripload of Kristal and Bentley worshipers. Not that Freestyle Fellowship ever wandered down that path: they were too busy twisting tongues with blissed-out, stream-of-consciousness rhymes -- which is more or less what you'll find, without the hard-hitting beats, on To Whom It May Concern... For example, songs like "Jupiter's Journey" and "Sunshine Men" showcase Self-Jupiter and J. Sumbi's respective rhyme flows, but ignore song structure altogether; basically, you're getting the MC without the DJ, which can get boring after a while. But when they pull it all together and work as a collective (as their name implies), things heat up quickly, like on "Convolutions," a breakneck bebop session that is over all too quickly, or "We Will Not Tolerate" and "Dedications," shout sessions that are truncated versions of songs found on their later (and better) album, Inner City Griots. Which is not to say that To Whom It May Concern... is a snoozer when each rapper works alone. Most of the woefully underrated Aceyalone's tunes are bracing exercises in skill and speed, and Mikah 9 and Self-Jupiter are stellar wordsmiths. But a fellowship functions best when everyone is working together, and there's more evidence of this particular group's promise in its ensuing work.

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