Proh Mic is one third of the electro-funk/R&B group Hawthorne Headhunters, but he’s been recording as a solo artist for a few years as well. He works on Rhythm For Days as producer/songwriter/arranger/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist, but that doesn’t mean he did everything on his own. Far from it - we get guest appearances from Georgia Anne Muldrow, Uncle Imani (of Pharcyde), Coultrain, Tone Trezure, Paolo Jean, Jessica Neal, and Jimetta Rose.

Proh Mic appears to have visions of grandeur with this album, but unfortunately, the album doesn’t live up to these hopes. Rhythm For Days opens with a song entitled “Mothaship,” a decent song built off of keyboard bass riff. It’s not bad, but he’s already dug himself in the hole by invoking a term so heavily associated with George Clinton. Fair or not, if you’re going to invite the comparison by using “Mothaship” as the name of your song, you had better bring the funk, and Mic doesn’t. Things pick up a bunch when Muldrow steps in, but it’s difficult to say how much is due to the immense talents she brings to the table. “I Remember” is easily my favorite song on the record. After listening to the third track, “Hit the Floor,” with Uncle Imani and Coultrain, I was a little worried that Proh Mic was going to be outshone by his guests, but “Don’t Stop” proves that he’s capable of carrying a song by himself. It features a great groove laid down on his keyboards, minimal vocals on the hook and a mood shift in the middle that works nicely. Then, just as I was about to get into the music, the album stalls in the middle. I really wanted “Turn It Over” to work better than it did. It has a sort of Morris Day meets Sly Stone sort of vibe happening, which sounds amazing on paper, but the vocal lines never really fit with the groove laid down with the keyboards and drums. I’m not sure who to fault, but I’m going to go with the drums. Also, the song isn’t mixed as well as it could have been, with weird levels on the vocals and drums. The song should be amazing, but it just never clicks. Proh Mic does recover with “Easy Luvin,” but once again it’s good, not great. “Optimistic” brings me right back to frustration. It has a good groove, and the chorus works really well with R&B vocals and horns coming in, but the rhymes during the verses are lacking. Things look up again when Jessica Neal elevates what could have been a mediocre party song with vocals that are powerful and bring an immediacy to some generic lyrics. The bottom falls out immediately after this song, though, with “I Can’t Weight,” a re-imagining of the Nu Shooz classic. If you’re going to take on a song that’s so embedded in our culture, you had better do something amazing with it, otherwise you’re just going to be some person who isn’t as good as the original, which is exactly what happens here. Proh Mic’s song isn’t different in any significant way and just made me want to listen to Nu Shooz. He is not doing himself any favors by including this on his album. While it doesn’t get any worse from there until the end of the album, he doesn’t have any aces left up his sleeve, either, and everything ends on a flat note.

Rhythm For Days is an album that seems a lot better on paper than it actually is. There are definitely moments where it shines, but more than anything the album wallows in mediocrity, neither offending or elating. Hopefully Proh Mic can continue to find his artistic identity, because this album never claims it.