Def Jef followed up
Just a Poet With Soul with the equally likable
Soul Food, which regrettably didn't bring the underexposed L.A.-based rapper the commercial success he deserved. The CD's more sociopolitical songs are also its best, including "Get Up 4 the Get Down," "Don't Sleep (Open Your Eyes)" and the reggae-Influenced "Voice of a New Generation." But
Jef is also quite enjoyable on more escapist tunes like "Cali's All That" (a duet with
Tone Loc), "Fa Sho Shot" (which samples
L.T.D.'s 1977 hit "Back In Love Again"), and the single "Here We Go Again."
Jef may have been "coolin' in Cali," but
Soul Food is a very East Coast-sounding disc illustrating the fact that the MC never forgot his New York upbringing. ~ Alex Henderson