EW's GRADE
B+

Details Lead Performance: Cab Calloway; Genres: Jazz, Reissues

Hopped-up on speakeasy hemp smoke and zoot-suit slang, Calloway took scat singing to solar heights in the '30s, paving the way for Chuck Berry, rap, you name it. Are You Hep concentrates on corny and samey novelties from the '40s, when Cab's seediest storytelling and craziest vocal twisting were already behind him. But his rhythm section never stops jumping, and ''Minnie the Moocher'' still shows how to kick the gong around. B+

Originally posted Oct 07, 1994 Published in issue #243 Oct 07, 1994 Order article reprints

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