Port Authority, the second release from Toronto-born producer Marco Polo, is not for the weak at heart. No, this is not an album for the casual Hip-Hop fan that listens for hooks with which to sing along. Club music that will be played at your local club every Friday or Saturday night for the “grown and sexy” will not be found here. Radio rappers found in top 10 heavy-rotation on your local “Hip-Hop” radio station? Nah, those guys aren’t here either.
What you will find on Port Authority is like a Hip-Hop purist’s wet dream. Marco is a producer, so the first thing you do is check to see which emcees are featured on this album and, as stated, it puts smiles on many faces. The obvious standout artists are legends like Kool G Rap, Sadat X and Large Professor. Not to be outdone by the vets of the game are younger, lesser known guys like Copywrite and Jaysun who hold their own as well. …And not to mention a nice peppering of emcees like Kardinal Offishall, O.C. and JuJu (wow!). With that lineup, one must be wondering what Marco Polo is like on the boards.
It is easily apparent that Marco studied the game and learned from some of the best ever to do it. His sound is unique because he doesn’t sound like any of the game’s newer talents. He isn’t using sped-up soul samples in his hooks; instead, many of his hooks are chopped up samples incorporating various emcees’ lyrics to make a relevant hook. In the opening track, “Get Busy” featuring Copywrite, Polo chops 6 samples together to make the hook similar to Pete Rock and Primo. On “War”, Polo incorporates vocals throughout the track as a part of the beat, similar to how RZA used to on early clan tracks.
Port Authority shows Polo running the gambit with his beat making – he can be aggressive and in your face (“Lay It Down”), he can smooth it out (“Go Around”) and he can make it dark and grimy (“Hood Tales”). The “problem” with Port Authority is its consistency. Polo reaches a certain level and glides along at that level; no specific track stands out as great or monumental and the emceeing rides the same level. This, however, is not a real problem because in the grand scheme of things, that level is rather high.
