Tre Hardson should put the following on the cover of “Slimkid 3’s Cafe”: “Warning, listening to certain songs on this album may lead to spontaneous make-out sessions.” If the songs don’t cause listeners to embrace with amorous frenzy, they might generate on-the-spot dance-offs or uninhibited duets as listeners belt out the snappy lyrics along with Hardson’s smooth raps or his array of sultry back-up singers. Such is the beauty of “Slimkid 3’s Cafe”: It’s got something for everyone.
When Hardson released his first independent record “Liberation” after years of commercial success as a member of the ’90s mega-hit group The Pharcyde, he was going for deep and spiritual. This time around, it’s all about fun. As an independent artist, Hardson has the freedom to take the pre-packaged hip-hop shoved down mass culture’s throat, unwrap it and redistribute it as he pleases. He’s ditched sampling for a nine-piece band and writes the songs he wants, the songs that mean something to him. While the tracks on “Cafe” range from hip-hop and soul to jam band and rock, for the most part they fit together as a cohesive unit. It’s all Tre Hardson, unfiltered.
Hardson is at his soulful best on “When You Love Someone” and “Champagne Wishes,” but the infectious beats and well-crafted rhymes of songs such as “Stepping Stones” give proof that “Slimkid 3’s Cafe” is another stop on Hardson’s path to reinventing himself as an artist free from the clutches of corporate music. The album has rhythm and soul; it’s everything hip-hop should be.