When soft rap is combined with reggae, hip-hop beats and soft singing, the creativity is endless. On his solo album The Hustle, G Love rips out all the stops, combining his skill for good lyrics with his ability to rap to a good beat.
G Love, a.k.a. Garrett Dutton, began playing guitar when he was in high school. While in Philadelphia, he played with different types of jam and blues bands. In 1992, G Love moved to Boston where he would play guitar and harmonica in small clubs and subway stations. One night while G Love was performing, drummer Jeffrey Clemens spotted his talent. With bassist Jim Prescott, the three formed the band G Love and Special Sauce.
The band released their first album, self-titled G Love and Special Sauce, in 1994. Together the trio produced another album called Coast to Coast Motel. G Love then parted ways with Special Sauce. In 1997 he collaborated with another band creating his third album, Yeah, It's That Easy. The Hustle stands as his second solo project.
The album combines stellar beats and G Love's impressive rhythmic rapping. The guitar is smooth on the tracks, adding character to the folksy sound that dominates the album. G Love capitalizes on his ability to play the harmonica, adding it intermittently throughout the CD. In the background, a synthesizer adds additional sounds that give his songs a happy vibe and head-bopping beats.
The fourth track, "Booty Call," opens with slow jamming on the harmonica and a voice that chimes in "Ain't nothing wrong with the booty call / the booty call / Ain't nothing wrong with the booty call." The guitar fades into the background each time G Love begins to riff with his lyrics, but is strongly plucked in between each of his stanzas. A bongo beats in the background, adding a different element to heavier rock sounds of the song. A piano comes in toward the end, with a few notes being hit every now and then, making the song even more dynamic.
The 11th track, "Back of the Bus," opens with a guitar strumming softly, but powerfully enough to carry the entire song. The beats are slower, with more of an even drumming, as G Love speeds up his rhymes on this track. His tempo picks up beats as he says "She's got the salad and I got the dressing / all the cool kids to the back of the bus." Here he graces the listener with some of his singing, which has a good pace and pitch. The song, which is simpler than his other songs, has a nice, solid pulse to it. It doesn't feel rushed, even though his verses are spit out a bit faster than on some of the other tracks.
The album is a creative achievement for G Love. He shows that his ability to write is only outdone by his ability to combine a multitude of instruments, creating a completely different sound that almost makes it hard to place it into one category. He proves his ability to rap and jam with the best of them, and with a style that isn't typical of most: one that is slower, melodic and filled with good vibes.
