Three is a magic number. It represents how many times I had to listen to All In The Family’s debut album to fully inhale the Smoked Diamondz. The first trip through the A.I.F. soundscape was to spark up the overall vibe of the crew. Round two was for concentration on the lyrics. Round three focused on the production.

All In The Family are an integral element in the re-emerging Philadelphia Hip Hop scene. Illadelph represent. All In The Family is what the "City of Brotherly Funk" is all about. As one of Philly’s original B-boys, I’ve seen everything that my hometown has produced for the Hip Hop community at large. Smoked Diamondz is as true to Philly as any album of the 90’s. Engineer/ emcee Jay Meek, emcee Bizear the Intellectual, emcee Jinx Trilogy and DJ/ producer/ engineer DJ Cratez weave multi layered vocal bombs with fresh beats and production as tight as it gets. You will hear vinyl crackles and pops throughout the album. If it’s possible for an album to be dirty and crisp at the same time, Jay Meek has managed to do it here. Mad props to A.I.F. for having the respect to leave the imperfections in. As they say on "100% Freestyle", Hip Hop ain’t perfect and it’s not supposed to be. Big up for not using the same old played out break beats. This is a completely new experience.

No doubt, Smoked Diamondz is eerie, dirty East Coast flav’ all the way. Heads on the Atlantic will feel this to the fullest. While nowhere near being "gangsta", the gritty ghetto reality conveyed on these fourteen tracks should appeal to true Hip Hoppers down South and on the West Coast. All In The Family take Hip Hop as seriously as a heart attack. They obviously breathe Hip Hop on the daily and their love & respect for what they do bleeds through their sound.

All In The Family's website

review by Funk Wizard Snow
Editor- PhillyHipHop.com
February, 1999