Posted on 08/26/2005

 

Beats, poetry, live band and spirituality. Black Bottom Collective is definitely coming strong on their sophomore effort, People Mover. Fronted by notorious Detroit slam-poet Khari Kimani Turner, BBC leaves no doubt that it has a serious voice and message. Named after the famous, creative section of northeast Detroit (Black Bottom was originally a French establishment), BBC makes it immediately obvious that they have a profound understanding of where they came from and, perhaps more importantly, where they’re going—in this life and the next.

At first listen, BBC comes across somewhat misconstrued. Judging by the initial proceedings of "Stuck on Before", one might have the notion that this is the same old Tupac struggle—understanding Right and not being able to correct the Wrong. However, after about two minutes into that track—and then, of course, the rest of the album—the listener understands that the BBC's message is simple and profound, confident and humble. Perhaps the most demonstrative of this notion is the track simply titled "l-o-v-e". While the listener might wince upon first seeing the unoriginal name, he may have to flip the repeat switch after feeling the heat with which BBC presented it. Followed up by some serious flow and orchestration on "Where Were You?", respect is due from thereon.

As with most funk/soul bands, it is virtually always a difficult transition to flip on that live vibe in the dull, clean sound of the studio. While BBC makes a valiant effort to do just that, a bit more variety (as opposed to the somewhat homogenous sound) would have been nice. Regardless, this band leaves little to the imagination of how ill their live show must be, and leaves no doubt regarding their talent level, ambition, message, and work ethic. Detroit should be proud of yet another of its offspring, the Black Bottom Collective.