Jazz comes up from the basement with sensuous sampled loops from the Blue Note archives, and in through the side door with heated solos between the raps.
Entertainment Weekly 18.4.97
The groove is non-stop.... Once again producer/mixer Geoff Wilkinson dips into the Blue Note vault to borrow beat samples, rappers KCB and Shabaam Sahdeeq wax eloquent with news from the street and a rotating crew of musicians fills the gaps with strong improvisational flights.
Down Beat Jan 97
This time around, producer Geoff Wilkinson digs deeper into the Blue Note catalog to come up with some obscure jazz samples combined with live musicians and the poetic lyrics of newcomers KCB and Shabaam Sahdeeq.
Rap Pages August 97
Like the dance bands of the Big Band Era, Us3 shows that it's possible to create a form that both delights and challenges. It also proves beyond any doubt that like jazz and blues (other African-American art forms once dismissed as gutter music) before it, rap can hold it's own in a high-brow environment. KCB and Sahdeeq give vocal performances that are sophisticated and classy while still conveying an energetic urgency. Perhaps most of all, "Broadway & 52nd" is evidence that jazz continues to evolve, to adapt - to live.
Jim Trageser 'American Reporter' 12.4.97
