| Hard Groove | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Roy Hargrove |
| Cover: | Hard Groove.album.jpg |
| Released: | May 2003 |
| Studio: | Electric Lady Studios |
| Genre: | Jazz, funk, hip hop |
| Label: | Verve[1] |
| Producer: | Roy Hargrove |
| Prev Year: | 2002 |
| Next Title: | Strength |
| Next Year: | 2004 |
Hard Groove is an album by the American musician Roy Hargrove, released in 2003.[2] [3] It was credited to his group, the RH Factor.[4]
The album peaked at No. 185 on the Billboard 200.[5] "I'll Stay" was nominated for a Grammy Award, in the "Best R&B Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals" category.[6]
Produced by Hargrove, the album was recorded at Electric Lady Studios.[7] [8] Hargrove used a 10-piece band on the album.[9] He considered it to be a tribute to his childhood love of hip hop; he also wanted to impart a gospel or spiritual element to the music.[10] [11] Reggie Washington and Pino Palladino were among the musicians on the album.[12]
D'Angelo appears on the cover of Funkadelic's "I'll Stay".[13] Renee Neufville sang on "Juicy". Q-Tip rapped on "Poetry"; Meshell Ndegeocello and Erykah Badu also appeared on the track. Anthony Hamilton sang on "Kwah/Home".[14]
The album cover was designed by Rudy Gutierrez, who was inspired by the art for Abraxas.[15]
The Boston Globe deemed Hard Groove a "genre-busting album [that] is a funky showcase of Hargrove's musical alacrity."[16] The New York Times labeled it "a late-night party album: it begins upbeat then settles into a stoned haze."[17] The Birmingham Post concluded that "there's a 1970's retro feel which conjures up Donald Byrd's hits, as well as some funk worthy of George Clinton, but it's also very up-to-date, especially in the sophistication of the studio sound."[18]
The Washington Post wrote: "Loose-limbed and groove-driven, it occasionally sounds overplayed and undercomposed as the musicians struggle to find the right balance of rhythmic momentum and jazz improvisation."[19] The New York Amsterdam News stated that Hargrove "plays on the edge of his imagination using jazz improvisations as the key to display another exciting element of his creativity."[20]
AllMusic called the album "an exploration of his multidimensional musical attributes and his belated recognition of years of 'open-eared moonlighting'." The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings determined that "Pastor 'T'" "might be one of Hargrove's best performances on record."