Besides being a posthumous release, the Jay Love Japan EP was a much delayed release by the time it landed in 2008, having been originally announced in 2005. As the logistics were worked out with late producer's estate, numerous bootlegs, test pressings, and promos appeared. This final, official version differs little from any previous underground incarnation, and while the soulful beats are as good as the three years of Internet message board discussion has declared, the package, as it always has been, is woefully short. Ten tracks, mostly instrumental, fly by in just over 20 minutes with only the two vocal cuts -- "Say It" with Ta'Raach and "First Time" with Slum Village member Baatin -- sounding truly finished. The good news is that fanatics finally get decent packaging around these cuts, but the set is much less satisfying than his grand beat album Donuts. ~ David Jeffries

Rovi