Hidden Beach Recordings Presents: Unwrapped, Vol. 1

Unlike conventional various-artists albums, Hidden Beach Recordings Presents: Unwrapped, Vol. 1 does not feature tracks by a series of recognized performers. Rather, each track is performed by a group of musicians assembled for the purpose by the producers, who are the auteurs here. They are Tony Joseph and Darryl Ross. Joseph gets credit for the album's concept, which is to take rap songs and play them in a smooth jazz style. In such a context, Lil' Kim's "Crush on You" sounds a lot more like smooth jazzman Jeff Lorber's "Rain Dance," which was sampled in it, while Eminem's "Stan," minus Eminem himself, reverts to being Dido's "Thank You." ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide