B-Real: Smoke and Mirrors Review

B-Real has undoubtedly made his mark upon hip-hop in his two decades with Cypress Hill. Whether it was his stoney wailings on "I Wanna Get High" or nasally chorus hooks on "Insane in the Brain," B-Real's vocals are both positively infectious and memorable.  For his debut solo album, Smoke and Mirrors, B-Real continues with tradition in excellence. Smoke and Mirrors at Amazon More after the jump.

Smoke and Mirrors brings a sly backbeat with heavy clap tracks, B-Real's aggressively-spitted verses and Bo Roc's soulfully sung choruses. "Fire" amalgamates hip-hop and reggae with crafty vocal call and responses by B-Real and Damian Marley, which proves to be a stellar collaboration and one of the album's finest. This is another gem released by one of the more original artists hip-hop has seen.

by Zachary Ahern

Tags: ahern, amazon, B-Real: Smoke and Mirrors Review, backbeat, choruses, clap, collaboration, cypress hill, damian marley, debut solo album, decades, hip-hop, hooks, insane in the brain, nbsp, real smoke, reggae, roc, tradition