i, John

It’s awfully difficult to disregard the fact that John Forté recorded his second album while awaiting trial on a cocaine smuggling charge, for which he was subsequently sentenced to, and is now serving, 14 years in a Texan prison.

On first listen, i, John’s salient characteristic is diversity. Yawing fearlessly from rock to blues, ballad to Brit-influenced hard reggae, ex-Fugees rapper Forté would seem to have broadened his horizons just before having them forcibly narrowed by a state penitentiary. Casting a wide net usually equates to spreading oneself thin, but in fact most of Forté’s musical excursions are successful.

‘Harmonize’, a funky/soulful duet with Robyn Springer, is honey to the ears, as is the slightly mawkish but nonetheless affecting ballad ‘All The Pretty People’. Darker emotions are also represented, in ‘Trouble Again’, a grinding polemic (featuring Tricky) marred by rather naive and over-reaching lyrics, and ‘Beware’, the most openly autobiographical song on the album (“Beware/Informer walk amongst us/Take care! Them chat ‘bout most of us”).

Tricky isn’t the only high-octane guest on i, John. Carly Simon and Esthero lend their able voices and Herbie Hancock supplies an incredible Rhodes break on ‘Take Time, Slow Down’. All told there are ten ‘featured’ contributors but Forté remains at the helm throughout, having written, co-produced and programmed every track.

What is remarkable about i, John is not that it was made by a man in custody. It’s that it was made by a man with all the dubious credentials of a gangsta, yet manages to throb with humanity, feeling and idiosyncrasy, a rarity in the least bombastic genre.