Emphasizing the value of art over commerce with an assured probity seldom demonstrated by his contemporaries, O.C.'s debut album, Word...Life, was a spirited boon to hip-hop purists that had been searching for an icon to articulate their ideology. Rare had an MC preached the importance of street credibility and ghetto gold with a blatancy as evident as O.C. did on "Time's Up." Strangely, his meager commercial success seemed to strengthen his underground support and, for better or worse, he became the purist's model spokesman. Three years later, and facing the litmus test of his sophomore album, O.C. responds on his second single, "Far From Yourz," in a way not even his most devout fans would expect: the female crooning of R&B singer Yvette Michelle. Whether you view it as a either soulful shading or an attempt at greater appeal, one thing is certain on Jewelz: O.C. is hardly compromising his MC abilities or selling out. While his first album was an exorcism of personal beliefs-memories of growing up, expositions on inner ideologies-his second album is more of an exercise in pure skill. For the most part, O.C. doesn't have anything to say that carries the same weight as "Time's Up," but you're drawn to the ways he says it. Brimming with East Coast-style musical textures, the Lord Finesse-produced title track and the Buckwild-blessed "The Chosen One," elicit the same type of emotive spirit found on album one, but it's the cuts like the DJ Premier-produced "M.U.G." (with Freddie Foxxx), and "My World," that are indicative of O's new steelo: non-stop, bending lyrical rhapsodies. Although Jewelz doesn't possess the conceptual glue necessary to hold this album together, O.C.'s ability to captivate a listener with the purity of his delivery is what drives this album. Unlike most rappers, he is a skilled wordsmith with a sincere dedication to his craft. Still shining and still climbing. - The Source (9/97). I still love this album, revisit it below...
The original 3.5 mic-review in The Source (September, 1997)...
