Besides the fact that she's just so gosh darn beautiful, the hip-hop community took to
Miri Ben-Ari because of her spirited playing that perfectly fit songs like
Twista's "Overnight Celebrity," and in many ways it made them. Right from the title,
The Hip-Hop Violinist relies too much on the gimmick of such a thing, and in the end comes off less satisfying than her jazz releases, which had more inspired tiles like Sahara and Temple of Beautiful instead of Female Israeli Jazz Violinist. Half of her guests can't help but dwell on her name, her beauty, and her quirky role in hip-hop, repeatedly giving props to her instead of offering anything substantial. Good news is
Lil' Mo will have none of it, instead delivering the uplifting "Hold Your Head Up High" with a passion to which
Miri's winding violin responds with spirit. "Chillin' in the Key of E" is intriguing Vivaldi meets
Wes Montgomery meets hanging out downtown, and the Southern party anthem "4 Flat Tires" with
Baby,
Lil Wayne, and
Six Shot makes up for a lot of filler. Hearing
Doug E. Fresh's human beatbox accompany
Ben-Ari's interpretive take on "Star Spangled Banner" is exciting and neither
John Legend nor
Kanye West damage their lofty status, but insights into
Ben-Ari the artist are just too rare. Consider it a mixtape with
Ben-Ari appearances and it's more hit than miss, but as thrilling and as fun as the album can be, you can't help but wish the unique voice on her earlier recordings was more center stage. [The album was also released in an edited version.] ~ David Jeffries