Contrary to those famous words by Jay Z, I AM R&B Smooth, and I'm definitely an R&B dude. The thing I love about  discovering mixtapes, particularly soul mixtapes, is that I love finding new artists. Whether the artists are brand new on  the scene or it's new to me, there's something unexplainable about unearthing new people that give you hope for the  future.

R&B is so oversaturated with Boyz II Men Wannabes that it's almost hard to listen anymore. Everyone and their brother  seems to be in a new R&B group that's out. And the songs seem to get more and more graphic as the years go by. Eventually a smooth R&B group will emerge, and the song is just, "let's f***".

Age doesn't really matter anymore, and so you have these pre-pubescent kids every couple years that come out with a  song talking about the girl that got away. When I see this, I'm thinking, shouldn't he be at the age where he doesn't even  LIKE girls? But I digress.

Due to the oversaturation of the genre, there's a lot of picking and weeding through the undesirables to reach the back &  find those that deserve the shine; that deserve the spotlight to be focused on them for a long time. This is the way I felt  when I discovered Floetry for the first time. I also felt that way when I found Jill Scott, Kindred The  Family Soul, Erykah   Badu, Goapele, and most recently Fertile Ground.

I felt this way again this past weekend, when I got a chance to listen to DJ Topspin's Velour Vibes 3 - "SUNROOF  TOP", and discovered new artists such as Platinum Pied Pipers ft. Zeno, The Avilla Brothers and Joi Campbell. There's  something to be said  about a soul mixtape that doesn't retread the same tired songs that are on every other mixtape out  there at the moment; a mixtape that doesn't have an "Exclusive" that you've already heard several times before; and  finally, a mixtape where  the DJ actually introduces tracks to you as they begin.

When I got this release, I had never listened to Topspin before. He apparently is a legend in Seattle, Washington,  however, I had never had the pleasure of hearing him. His Velour Vibes releases have always been highly spoken of, and I  always  planned on getting them, but usually the time would come and go, and I'd be without.

So, I was excited when I received this in my dusty mailbox. So I popped it in and listened....and liked what I was hearing.

While there are a few big name people such as Jamie Foxx & Kanye West on the morning after track "One Night  Extravaganza", Topspin's signature J-Dilla produced blend/remix of Faith Evan's "U Gets No Love", and of course the  requisite  classic jam "Ain't Nobody" by Chaka Khan, most of these wonderful tracks are of the lesser known variety. I  found myself  nodding my head to the Jadakiss assisted "Everything Reminds Me" by Joi Campbell, and really grooving to the sounds  of artists like The Avilla Brothers'  "Smile"

And come on, let's face it... any rap song that can speak romantically about a woman and reference the Gimp in Pulp  Fiction as does Slum Village in "I Know What U Want", well, that's to be appreciated, I believe.

One of the things I liked the most about this was the way that Topspin would introduce the tracks between songs. As a  song would end and the other would begin, it was almost like a Radio DJ jumping in and saying, "and this next hot track  is by...". I was almost expecting him to give me the time and weather.

It's little things like this, that really adds to the experience, and something you don't really get anymore. There's such a   backlash on "talking" on mixtapes, and rightfully so, that things like this get missed out on. Although in the other    mixtapes whenever that might happen, the DJ is screaming and the voice echoes "HERE YOU GO (GO GO GO) BRAND  NEW EXCLUSIVE SHIT (SHIT SHIT)"

The only negative thing on this that I can possibly find, is a nitpicky type of thing, I know, but it stuck out to me. On the  cover, at the bottom is a picture of Craig David wearing his headphones with his eyes closed. It's the picture that was on  the cover of David's "Born to Do it" Debut album, a classic by the way.

However, David was nowhere to be found on this album. Usually if you put something on your cover, an artist or whatever,  that person is at least on there for an intro or interlude or SOMETHING.

But as I said, that's nit picking, and i! t gives you an idea of just how good this album is, that if there is something to be  found to harp on, that's the extent of it.

This double album totally lived up to the hype of Topspin's previous releases, and has really gotten me into gear to where   I'm gonna be picking up his two previous Velour Vibes mixes.

If you, like me, are a big soul fan and a groove freak, than you can do a lot worse than picking this up. And that's the  DOUBLE TRUTH, Ruth...! (2-2-06)