MARCO POLO - Port Authority Review

Self-proclaimed as his ode to Pete Rock’s Soul Survivor LP, Marco Polo’s debut album Port Authority (SoulSpazm/Rawkus) lives up to that lofty standard. The Toronto-born, Brooklyn dwelling producer takes you back to a time when Hip-Hop really did live at Hot 97 and fans still got excited when albums dropped. Overall, Port Authority is reminiscent of mid-90s Hip-Hop but sounds nostalgic, never dated....full text "Man, in '95/ I thought music was losing its touch./ Compared to now/ That was a golden era./ Who would've thought?"


Wow. When rapper Copywrite spits this line, from "Get Busy," the second track on producer Marco Polo's compilation-style debut, he triggers a world of debate and leaves behind a lot of unanswered questions. How could he think hip-hop circa 1995, with its all-coastal barrage of Biggie/Pac/Scarface/Raekwon/Dogg Pound/Mobb Deep/Bone Thugs/Pharcyde/Goodie Mob/Roots ear candy, was falling off? And, for the believers: Did any of us know how good we really had it?...full text In this day and age of Hip-Hop, it seems that lyricism has taken a back seat to production. Now, people would rather nod their heads a little more to a beat, rather than recite their favorite verse. One of the beatsmiths leading this changing of the guard, is Toronto native Marco Polo. After laying down tracks for Masta Ace's Long Hot Summer, Pumpkinhead’s Orange Moon Over Brooklyn and Boot Camp Clik’s The Last Stand, our neighbor from the north returns with his debut compilation album, Port Authority....full text