Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality, was the follow-up to the well-received Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1

Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1

Guru's Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 is a jazz rap album by alternative hip hop artist Guru, released on May 18, 1993 on Chrysalis Records. This album is one of the first albums to combine a live jazz band with hip hop production and rapping. It is the first such project to feature established rappers...

. This second release to the Jazzmatazz series slightly toned down the jazz rap

Jazz rap

Jazz rap is a sub-genre of hip hop which incorporates jazz influences, developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The lyrics are often based on political consciousness, Afrocentricity, and general positivism...

 punch that made the first volume memorable. It was nevertheless critically acclaimed in its own right. Guests featured on this release include Freddie Hubbard

Freddie Hubbard

Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...

, Donald Byrd

Donald Byrd

Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...

, Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Lewis

Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...

, Kool Keith

Kool Keith

Keith Matthew Thornton, better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper from The Bronx, New York. A founding member of Ultramagnetic MCs, Kool Keith has recorded prolifically both as a solo artist and in group collaborations. Kool Keith is the self-proclaimed inventor of...

, Patra

Patra (singer)

Patra is a reggae singer. In her beginnings as a Female Dancehall deejay in the late 1980s, she used the stage name, Lady Patra...

 and Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai

Jamiroquai is a British jazz funk and acid jazz band formed in 1992. Jamiroquai were initially the most prominent component in the early-1990s London-based acid jazz movement, alongside groups such as Incognito, the James Taylor Quartet, and the Brand New Heavies. Other Acid Jazz artists such as...

; other notable personalities which reprising their roles from the previous release include Branford Marsalis

Branford Marsalis

Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...

, Courtney Pine

Courtney Pine

Courtney Pine CBE is an English jazz musician. At school he studied the clarinet, although he is known primarily for his saxophone playing. Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass Clarinet and keyboards...

, and Ronny Jordan

Ronny Jordan

Ronny Jordan is a guitarist at the forefront of the acid jazz movement at the end of the twentieth century. Additionally, Jordan can be included in several other jazz genres such as urban jazz, jazz funk, crossover jazz, and smooth jazz...

.

According to Billboard music charts, this album slightly outpeformed its predecessor; it peaked at #16 and #73 on Billboard's "Top R&B / Hip Hop Albums and "Billboard 200" albums charts respectively. The single, "Watch What You Say" (featuring Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan

Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...

), peaked at #13 and #93 on the Billboard's "Hot Dance Music / Maxi-Singles" and "Hot R&B / Hip Hop Singles & Tracks" charts respectively.

Jazzmatazz, Vol. 2: The New Reality was released on July 18, 1995, via the Chrysalis

Chrysalis Records

Chrysalis Records was a British record label that was created in 1969. The name was both a reference to the pupal stage of a butterfly and a combination of its founders names, Chris Wright and Terry Ellis...

 imprint.

Tracklisting

1. "Intro [Light It Up] Jazzalude I" – 1:44
2. "Lifesaver" – 4:13
3. "Living in This World" – 4:29
4. "Looking Through Darkness" – 4:48
5. "Skit A [Interview] Watch What You Say" – 5:00
6. "Jazzalude II - Defining Purpose" – 1:02
7. "For You" – 4:10
8. "Insert A [Mental Relaxation] Medicine" – 4:19
9. "Lost Souls" – 4:12
10. "Insert B [The Real Deal] Nobody Knows" with Shara Nelson
    Shara Nelson
    Shara Nelson is a British singer and songwriter. She is notable for her work with the band Massive Attack in the early 1990s, and for her solo career in which she garnered five UK Top 40 hit singles...
    
     – 3:58
11. "Jazzalude III - Hip Hop As A Way Of Life" – 1:17
12. "Respect The Architect" – 4:51
13. "Feel the Music" – 3:57
14. "Young Ladies" – 4:12
15. "The Traveler" – 4:01
16. "Jazzalude IV - Maintaining Focus" – 1:18
17. "Count Your Blessings" – 4:02
18. "Choice Of Weapons" – 4:24
19. "Something in the Past" – 3:19
20. "Skit B [A lot On My Mind] Revelation" – 4:35

Samples Used

• "Lifesaver" contains a sample of "Django" by Cal Tjader
  Cal Tjader
  Callen Radcliffe Tjader, Jr. a.k.a. Cal Tjader was a Latin jazz musician, though he also explored various other jazz idioms. Unlike other American jazz musicians who experimented with the music from Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America, he never abandoned it, performing it until his...
  
  
• "Feel the Music" contains a sample of "Revival" by Martine Girault
• "Respect The Architect" contains samples from "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash
  Johnny Nash
  John Lester "Johnny" Nash, Jr. is an American pop singer-songwriter, best known in the US for his 1972 hit, "I Can See Clearly Now". He was also the first non-Jamaican to record reggae music in Kingston, Jamaica.-Life and career:...
  
   & "Nobody Beats the Biz" by Biz Markie
  Biz Markie
  Marcel Theo Hall better known by his stage name, Biz Markie, is an American rapper, beatboxer, DJ, comedian, singer, reality television personality, and commercial spokesperson. He is best known for his single "Just a Friend", an American Top 10 hit in 1989...
  
  
• "Choice Of Weapons" contains a sample of "It's A New Day" by Skull Snaps
  Skull Snaps
  Skull Snaps was a funk group that released one eponymous album on the small GSF label in 1973 before disappearing. It was, in fact, the group originally known as the Diplomats, which released numerous singles between 1963 and 1970 with some success....
  
  
• "Something in the Past" contains samples from "What You Won't Do For Love" by Bobby Caldwell
  Bobby Caldwell
  Bobby Caldwell is an American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who, despite a prolific musical output over his 30-year career, is still best known for his 1978 hit single "What You Won't Do for Love". While he has always maintained a devoted fan base in the United States, a legendary...
  
   & "You're A Customer" by EPMD
  EPMD
  EPMD is an American hip hop group from Brentwood, New York. The group's name is a concatenation of the members' name "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars", referencing its members, emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith...
  
  
• "Looking Through Darkness" contains samples from "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Otis Redding
  Otis Redding
  Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
  
   & "Slippin' into Darkness" by War
  War
  War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
  
  
• "Insert B [The Real Deal] Nobody Knows" contains a sample of "You Are My Starship" by Norman Connors
  Norman Connors
  Norman Connors is an American jazz drummer, composer, arranger, producer, and headliner, who has led some influential jazz and R&B groups. He also achieved several big R&B hits of the day, especially with love ballads.-Biography:...
  
  
• "Watch What You Say" contains a sample of "The Midnight Sun Will Never Set" by Quincy Jones
  Quincy Jones
  Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
  
  

Personnel

• Marc Antoine — Guitar
• Bahamadia — Vocals
• Baybe — Vocals
• Carlos Bess — Engineer, Mixing
• Big Shug — Vocals
• Bu — Vocals
• Donald Byrd
  Donald Byrd
  Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II, is an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd is best known as one of the only bebop jazz musicians who successfully pioneered the funk and soul genres while simultaneously remaining a...
  
   — Piano, Trumpet, Producer
• Rob Caprio — Engineer
• Choko — Creative Input
• Mike Chukes — Engineer
• Jez Colin — Producer, Bass
• Wallace Collins — Didjeridu
• Derrick Davis — Flute, Sax (Alto)
• Tony Dawsey — Mastering
• DJ Premier
  DJ Premier
  Christopher Edward Martin , better known by his stage name DJ Premier , is an American record producer and DJ, and was the instrumental half of the hip hop duo Gang Starr, together with emcee Guru...
  
   — Producer
• DJ Red Handed — Scratching, Turntables
• DJ Scratch — Scratching, Turntables
• DJ Sean-Ski — Scratching, Turntables
• Bill-Dog Dooley — Engineer
• Neale Easterby — Executive Producer
• Keith Elam — Executive Producer
• Paul Ferguson — Piano, Keyboards
• Gordon Franklin — Creative Input
• Darren Galea — Sax (Tenor)
• Kenny Garrett
  Kenny Garrett
  Kenny Garrett is a Grammy Award-winning American post bop jazz saxophonist and flautist who gained fame in his youth as a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra and of Miles Davis's band. He has since pursued a critically acclaimed solo career...
  
   — Saxophone, Fender Rhodes
• Steve Gursky — Engineer, Mixing
• Guru
  Guru
  A guru is one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom, and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others . Other forms of manifestation of this principle can include parents, school teachers, non-human objects and even one's own intellectual discipline, if the...
  
   — Arranger, Composer, Vocals, Producer, Mixing
• Gus Da Vigilante — Vocals
• Brian Holt — Bass, Guitar, Keyboards
• Freddie Hubbard
  Freddie Hubbard
  Frederick Dewayne "Freddie" Hubbard was an American jazz trumpeter. He was known primarily for playing in the bebop, hard bop and post bop styles from the early 1960s and on...
  
   — Trumpet
• Kenneth Ifil — Engineer
• Ken Ifill — Engineer
• Jason Kay — Vocals
• J.B. — Engineer
• Ben Jones — Engineer
• Benny Jones — Engineer
• Ronny Jordan
  Ronny Jordan
  Ronny Jordan is a guitarist at the forefront of the acid jazz movement at the end of the twentieth century. Additionally, Jordan can be included in several other jazz genres such as urban jazz, jazz funk, crossover jazz, and smooth jazz...
  
   — Guitar, Producer
• Ini Kamoze — Vocals
• Jason Kay — Vocals
• Chaka Khan
  Chaka Khan
  Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
  
   — Vocals
• Jan Kincaid — Piano
• Kool Keith — Vocals
• Thierry Le Goues — Photography
• Dee C. Lee — Vocals
• Shawn Lee — Drums
• Ramsey Lewis
  Ramsey Lewis
  Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis, Jr. is an American jazz composer, pianist and radio personality. Ramsey Lewis has recorded over 80 albums and has received seven gold records and three Grammy Awards so far in his career.-Biography:...
  
   — Synthesizer, Piano, Moog Synthesizer
• Lucien — Vocals
• Henry Marquez — Art Direction
• Branford Marsalis
  Branford Marsalis
  Branford Marsalis is an American saxophonist, composer and bandleader. While primarily known for his work in jazz as the leader of the Branford Marsalis Quartet, he also performs frequently as a soloist with classical ensembles and has led the group Buckshot LeFonque.-Biography:Marsalis was born...
  
   — Saxophone
• Willie McNeil — Drums
• Dennis Mitchell — Keyboards, Engineer
• Sikken Moov — Vocals
• Leo Morris — Engineer
• Leo Swift Morris — Engineer
• Patrick Moxey — Executive Producer
• Me'Shell NdegéOcello — Bass, Vocals
• Shara Nelson — Vocals
• Nikke Nicole — Producer
• Panchi Da Wild Comanchi — Creative Input
• Mica Paris — Vocals
• Patra — Vocals
• Courtney Pine
  Courtney Pine
  Courtney Pine CBE is an English jazz musician. At school he studied the clarinet, although he is known primarily for his saxophone playing. Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also playing the flute, clarinet, bass Clarinet and keyboards...
  
   — Flute, Saxophone
• Bernard "Pretty" Purdie — Drums
• Joe Quinde — Engineer
• Dennis Rodriguez — Keyboards
• J. Rodriguez — Clarinet, Flute
• Mike Rone — Creative Input
• Eddie Sancho — Engineer, Mixing
• Solsonics — Producer
• Mark Sparks — Producer
• Sweet Sable — Vocals
• True Master — Vocals, Producer
• Yoram Vanan — Engineer
• Yorum Vazan — Engineer
• Kieran Walsh — Engineer
• Reuben Wilson — Organ
• Stuart Zender
  Stuart Zender
  Stuart Patrick Jude Zender is an English bassist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for being the original bass player for Jamiroquai.-Early life:...
  
  — Bass