I LOVE underground music. You get to search and find artist and sounds so far from the mainstream. The down side to underground artists.....is that many are one and done. That's why it's always a pleasure to bump into an artist who you've thought you may not hear from again. Malik Ameer's Dramatomania was an amazingly strong yet also flawed album. Drenched in originality and political message it often for better or worse came across as something made in the basement. SANCTIFIED has no such problem. You quickly get a sense that the album was more then made, rather crafted by Malik. Jazzy, poetic and away from the realm of the average this is a very good album. A neo-soul version of hip-hop if you will. Interestingly enough the only negative I can say about it, is that it is so well polished that it lacks the production harshness that his previous work had.....giving slightly less push to his politcal message. Still all in all, another fine production by Mr. Ameer. I will be picking up the next release too......whenever it may come!!! I have been dropping reviews all up and down cdbaby. Now finally you have a chance to see what my music is all about. cdbaby.com/cd/absolutepower

I LOVE underground music. You get to search and find artist and sounds so far from the mainstream. The down side to underground artists.....is that many are one and done. That's why it's always a pleasure to bump into an artist who you've thought you may not hear from again. Malik Ameer's Dramatomania was an amazingly strong yet also flawed album. Drenched in originality and political message it often for better or worse came across as something made in the basement. SANCTIFIED has no such problem. You quickly get a sense that the album was more then made, rather crafted by Malik. Jazzy, poetic and away from the realm of the average this is a very good album. A neo-soul version of hip-hop if you will. Interestingly enough the only negative I can say about it, is that it is so well polished that it lacks the production harshness that his previous work had.....giving slightly less push to his politcal message. Still all in all, another fine production by Mr. Ameer. I will be picking up the next release too......whenever it may come!!! I have been dropping reviews all up and down cdbaby. Now finally you have a chance to see what my music is all about. cdbaby.com/cd/absolutepower

every once in a while I listen to this CD again to catch what I missed the 23rd time around. Malik is a lyricist and as voracious a thinker. I'm really proud to know the man behind his muse-ic. He has inspired me in ways he probably doesn't even know. Sanctified will remain the breath of ancestors awaiting resurrection from the underground of cliche' cemetaries. may the dead rise up and breathe again! James Baldwin would snap! LOL

MALIK AMEER - SANCTIFIED Every now and then you hear a track or a cd by an artist who you have never heard of but you really enjoy. In part this is true about this album. Malik Ameer hailing from Oakland, California brings a very funky, jazz influenced sounding release with positive, social conscious lyrics. Producing, mixing, writing and performing pretty much the whole album on his own Malik has definitely got his fingerprints over all aspects. A very chilled out album, taking slabs from jazz, soul and blues the beats are very diverse but at times a little cluttered. Similar to the Roots in parts without the ?uestlove feel though. A little similar throughout the album and definitely not on a bas heavy hip hop feel they are different, some enjoyable such as ‘Overstand1492’, produced by Daniel Sanchez and ‘Think about that’. Lyrics wise Malik seems to have been influenced by many different emcees. Almost a hybrid mix of Richie Rich, Scarface and 2Pac in parts. Not so much with the contents of his rhymes but the structure and flow. The flow is unique, at times hard to follow however at other times it is this that makes it stand out. If you are looking for beats similar to earlier Roots and conscious lyrics then this could be your release. However it just seems that if this had been released a few years ago the impact would have been a little greater. A talented musician no doubt, however not enough to make a heavy impact, different, but not different enough to create a new perception of hip hop. If you are a fan of old skool jazz or blues with spoken word this may suit you a little more, as a hip hop release it is chilled positive stuff that you will feel if you enjoy that style. contact: DIZZYTUNISIA@aol.com for details if interested [Edited on 4-9-2003 by G FORCE] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLICK HERE FOR G FORCE MUSIC