Fans first got a taste of Marshas talent as the singing half of the duo Floetry. Their 2000 debut Floetic produced signature singles like Say Yes" and "Getting Late" as well as four Grammy nods. Following the 2005 release of their second studio album, FloOlogy, the ladies veered creatively and personally. After the split, Marsha continued to build a name for herself as a songwriter and producer, creating Butterflies for the late Michael Jackson and other hits for artists such as Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, Jamie Foxx and Nas. Shes been nominated for a total of six Grammys and has been honored by BMI as their Songwriter of the Year. Late Nights and Early Mornings is destined to be a classic, as Marsha offers a candid glimpse of her life and perspectives as a woman. Inspired by musical icons like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Prince, she concedes there is an overall male influence in her songwriting, such as the assertive sentiments heard on hits like Say Yes. Musical peers recruited to contribute to the project include Alicia Keys, a reunion with Dre and Vidal (producers of Say Yes), Just Blaze and Focus.

After rhyming over Premier's doctored jazz beats in Gang Starr, Guru decided to take it to the next level, employing the talents of actual jazz musicians to create the grooves over which he would flow. Coming off like a jazzier extension of the Brand New Heavies' Heavy Rhyme Experience: Vol. 1, Jazzmatazz, Vol. 1 brought together a diverse group of jazz cats both old-school and new, including Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd, Lonnie Liston Smith, Ronny Jordan, and Courtney Pine. Guru even enlisted the serene pipes of Carleen Anderson and N'Dea Davenport and acted as something of an international hip-hop ambassador when he flipped "Le Bien, Le Mal" with French mic pro MC Solaar. From the Blue Note-style cover art to the hepcat spoken-word intro, this package is pure hip-hop jazz music. Jazz purists may wish to note that the grooves lean heavily toward the funkier 1970s era of jazz, and hardcore hip-hop heads my be turned off by the mellower musical stance. But then again, this is neither pure jazz nor hardcore hip-hop but rather an extension of the two. --Spence Abbott