The Night Took Us in Like Family＜Colored Vinyl＞

On their collaborative album, The Night Took Us in Like Family, busy beatmaker L'Orange and left-field rapper Jeremiah Jae deliver a darkly humorous tale of crime and criminals. Combining L'Orange's witty crime movie dialogue samples, sped-up and slowed-down vocals heisted from old soul albums, and sticky beats with Jae's slippery flow and devious rhymes, the album comes off like a sequel to Madvillain, or something close to what the dream pairing of Q-Tip and Madlib might sound like. Jae has a similar voice and style as Q-Tip, though he's not quite as distinctive, and L'Orange's samples tell stories much the same as Madlib's do, though not as uniquely. It's probably not fair to either L'Orange or Jae to compare them unfavorably to Q-Tip and Madlib, since almost anyone would be in that same boat. Simply say that they create the same kind of brainy, funny, and dense mood and feel, then sit back and enjoy the music as it bobs and weaves around you. Also on board to help out with a few verses are Homeboy Sandman and Gift of Gab from Blackalicious. Whether it's a one-off or the start of a beautiful relationship, Jae and L'Orange sound made for each other and this collaboration is first-rate hip-hop storytelling. ~ Tim Sendra