Rhazel of the Roots, Prince Paul, The Automator, DJ Scribble at House of Blues (LA Weekly, 7/1/1999)
Rhazel of the Roots, Prince Paul, The Automator, DJ Scribble at House of Blues
The spirit of the beat box grows in between Rhazel and "The Godfather of Noyze” ’s vocal cords. An admitted apprentice to the original human samplers Doug E. Fresh, Biz Markie, Bobby McFerrin and Michael Winslow (Police Academy). Rhazel is chiefly known for his work with the Roots, his main hip-hop/rap/funk/bebop tribe. His role with them is to create and fabricate with his mouth all the funky complexity the band can't or won't. On the cusp of forthcoming solo projects, Rhazel isolated at the mic offers endless possibilities. Prince Paul's hip-hop opera A Prince Among Thieves proved him the last in a breed of DJs/engineers committed to experimentation and the promotion of creativity throughout their hip-hop endeavors. He's previously produced Stetsasonic, De La Soul and the first Gravediggaz with the RZA, and as a solo act is a sentient forecaster/cultural critic with knuckles pressed down firmly on the pulse of hip-hop, able to predict and goof on its every ill turn. (Steve Knezevich)