Miri Ben-Ari's The Hip-Hop Violinist Features Kanye West, Scarface, Others

Miri Ben-Ari is an Israeli-born violinist who got her start in the prestigious Israeli Army String Quartet which led to her love of jazz. After coming to America to attend the Mannes School of Music she released her debut album, Sahara in 1999. The album received favorable reviews and led her to record The Temple of Beautiful live at the Blue Note Club in 2003. This album showcased her diverse sound and cemented her as a promising jazz musician.

With the abilitiy to play such diverse sounds, she then became a studio musician and was able to catapult herself to the foreground due to her love of hip-hop and r&b. She supplied instrumentation for Wyclef Jean, Britney Spears, and Alicia Keys before her career as an instrumentalist flourished when Kanye West enlisted her to help produce and arrange 80% of his critically acclaimed, commercial smash debut, The College Dropout. From there she supplied the backdrop on Twista's top ten hit, Overnight Celebrity, and her face was shown to the world through constant spins of the accompanying video. Now, she hopes to gain massive commercial success with a unique hip-hop album.

"The Hip-Hop Violinist" was set to arrive in stores nearly a year ago but numerous delays have halted it until September of 2005. It has finally been released and for the most part, the wait was worth it. Miri Ben-Ari serves up a pleasing and diverse blend of hip-hop that is uplifting and unique. Hip-hop fans may not know what to expect with an instrumentalist creating a hip-hop album but they won't be dissapointed with this. Likewise, violin fanatics should be fulfilled to some extent with the incredible craft that Ben-Ari is able to flaunt.

The album begins by asserting its street credibility with a strong, stomping beat and an appearance by rapper Styles P on the second single, "We Gonna Win." Ben-Ari laces this track with a strong performance of escalating arrangements matched with a precise finger plucking of the strings. Styles P contributes with bombastic boasts like, "Just listen to the violin strings/ In the mind of a madman, you can hear how triumph rings/ Its the King of the Slum and the Violin Queen." Before settling into more serious subject matter the album leaps into a club-ready song led by the energetic Fatman Scoop. The song has a dancehall rhythm and is supported by a frenetic instrumental from Ben-Ari.

The man that helped Ben-Ari launch her hip-hop career, Kanye West, makes his first appearance on the soulful track "Fly Away" with Fabolous and Musiq. He produces the song with his signature style and lends a strong verse. His production talents and excellent teamwork with Ben-Ari are also manifested on the cinematic "New World Symphony" featuring Pharoahe Monch. The song features a powerful choral performance and sharp rhymes on politics and the state of music from Monch. These songs will make listeners wish that Kanye had more of a contribution to this album.

Fortunately, classics like "Sunshine to the Rain" featuring Scarface and Anthony Hamilton and "Hold Your Head Up High" with Lil' Mo will keep listeners pleased and offer a relaxing listening experience. On the former, the first single, Houston rapper Scarface drops tough and truthful lyrics on his childhood battle with mental illness "No getting high 'cuz when you get high you hazard your health/ And as far as health mine was mental, oh you know how that goes, psychologically I deal with demons talking in codes." The hook is incredibly uplifting and Ben-Ari's violin is at its best by supplying a strong and emotional sound that captures the essence of the song perfectly.

For true fans of the violin, most of the tracks contain violin solos within them and many of the songs end with a solo performance by Ben-Ari. The only entirely solo song is "Chillin' in the Key of E" which offers a more jazzy sound and is a minor diversion from the feel of the rest of the album. Instrument lovers should enjoy the track and hip-hop heads may feel the need to skip it when in the mood for a heavier sound.

While the majority of this album is strong and there are not necessarily any tracks that beg for listeners to hit the skip button, there are songs that leave something to be desired and could have benefited from better production and a stronger presence from Ben-Ari's violin. One example is "Miss Melody" featuring Akon. On Akon's album, this song would be a welcome entry but since this album is Ben-Ari's, it lacks the soulful presence of her violin. "4 Flat Tires" suffers from 3 flat performances from Baby, Li' Wayne, and 6 Shot of Cash Money Records. The instrumentation on the song is not bad but lacks any real zeal when compared with the rest of the album. Also, "Star Bangled Banner" with old school legend Dougie Fresh comes off awkard instead of inspirational.

Essentially, if you are a fan of soulful, creative, meaningful hip-hop, then this album should not be missed. It is a unique and successful blend of the classic violin with classic hip-hop and r&b. It provides something for everyone with everything from street-credible rap to smooth r&b, club songs, and violin solos. The album is overall strong with only a few tracks that may not beg to be listened to each time you pop this in the player. Even musical purists who enjoy solo instrumentation should give this album a chance to see the diverse ways in which instruments can be artfully utilized. This album is likely to be a powerful inspiration for kids looking to begin playing their own instruments and hopefully this album will lead to more like it. Miri Ben-Ari officially shows that an instrument soloist can make a commercially viable, genre-blending album. 4 of 5 stars.