by MacKenzie WilsonWax Poetic is the hip-hop project behind Turkish-born musician Ilhan Ersahin, the ever-changing entourage of singers and musicians in which he founded in the N.Y.C. club scene in 1997. Their stumbling jams of urban electronica, acid jazz, and pop music mold the 16-member group, and their Atlantic self-titled debut is trip-heavy on beat-driven doses of jungle loops and sultry vibes of drum'n'bass.
It's the beautiful, fluid vocals of Nora Jones that make Wax Poetic's music so alluring. Cuts like "Technologie" and "Purple Elephants" are collectively cool, likening the sounds to Morcheeba's Skye Edwards. The shadowy fusion on "N.Y.C." is undoubtedly the breaking highlight. Highly crafted and swirling with deep urban grooves, the verbal definition of Wax Poetic action is to become lyrical. Ersahin and company have done it.