- Let me introduce you to (if you haven't heard of them by now) MC's Jaysonic, Comel (pronouced Cho-mel) and DJ Mekalek who make up Time Machine. Originally hailing from Rhode Island, NY and now based on the West Coast, this trio of hip hoppers are fast becoming favourites on the underground hip hop scene, expressing themselves through creative beats, feel good lyrics. Slow Your Roll is their debut album, coming off the back of well received 12"s like Night Lights, Personal Ads and Reststop Sweetheart.
Time Machine come off sounding like The Pharcyde both beats wise and the way they deliver their lyrics and this is expressed neatly through tunes like Time's Fly (which opens the album), Let's Not Be Real and Who Needs A Mic?. Smooth jazz loops featuring pianos, horn arrangements and head nodding drum beats. The album also features tracks like A Million And One Things To Do and Night Lights which suit a live jam perfectly. Posse shouts during the chorus, and a real hands in the air style vibe on both tracks, with a sublime sax melody on Night Lights making it one of the album highlights.
Time Machine demonstrate their corny storytelling rhyme style on Reststop Sweetheart, where they rhyme about trying to chat up a rest stop diner waitress while she's busy at work. Stoerokinit, produced by their other producer Stoerok, documents Time Machine's on stage antics including Mekalek doing the warm up set, newcomer Jahpan busting off his freestyles before Time Machine take to the stage and "set it awwwfff".
Old skool hip hopper Special K of Awesome 2 hosts the Spelling Bee in which Time Machine take words out of other words and try to relate both words to each other. Weird examples include taking the word "Bitch" out of "Obituary" - "cos life was a bitch and now your life is done". The group explore the sounds of dub and dancehall on Mind In A Spin featuring the vocals of Edo G and dis wan is a bumpin ragga ting - and they've even got a wicked sample of a reggae singer for the chorus. Sadly this is the only reggae flavoured joint on the album but they've done it well.
Life isn't always a party to Time Machine and they rhyme about life and love on tunes like Personal Ads and Thinking About You. Personal Ads sounds like a cheesy 80's adult contemporary love song with it's cheesy synths, guitar licks and funky bass, but when Time Machine rhyme about looking for love on a Personal Ad with several female vocalists doing the call and response on the chorus, one can't help but listen to what they're trying to say. Thinking About You is a more laidback affair aimed squarely at Time Machine's significant others.
There is a DJ focused track here highlighting the skills of DJ Mekalek, aptly called The Mekster opening up the second half of the album. Apart from scratching on most of the album, Mekalek was also responsible for producing the Slow Your Roll Megamix album showcase on the Night Lights 12". Stoerok provides the other instrumental effort on the album, The Assembly Line.
Finally, The Way Things Are rounds off the album with its catchy vocal hook that sounds like it was lifted off some 80's R&B love ballad. For those who got into Mos Def and Dj Honda's Travelling Man hit from 96 will get right into this one.
For those who really dig hip hop acts like The Pharcyde and Ugly Duckling (but without the rehashed old skool lyrics UD seem to love), Time Machine's Slow Your Roll is an excellent album - neat production skills, party style rhymes and wicked scratching to boot. As Special K said in Spelling Bee, Time Machine have a sound which goes back to the early nineties, when hip hop was fun.