Experienced!

As a mid-80s baby, I can honestly say my music knowledge is still at a young, dare I say infant, stage. I just started getting into music in sixth grade, so I’ve really only been following music for eleven years. Of those, only the last eight can I truly say I’ve been immersed in the culture. So to say I’m the most competent person to review this ambitious J-Zone side project would be a stretch. J-Zone, whose skills behind the boards have been just as lauded as his skills behind the mic, pays tribute to a legend way beyond his time with “Experienced”: Jimi Hendrix. As I mentioned, I embarrassingly have limited knowledge of Hendrix’s body of work and I wish I could give a much more comprehensive analysis of J-Zone’s interpretations of Hendrix’s orignals. But what I can do is give an honest opinion about how this project stands on its own. “Experienced” is essentially an instrumental album where J-Zone samples, rearranges, and loops Hendrix riffs into a hip-hop-ish pattern, similar to what Danger Mouse did to the Beatles’ “White Album” for the much-discussed Jay-Z remix “The Grey Album.” And much like that album, “Experienced” is impressive considering the circumstances.