In an effort to (re)introduce some of hip-hop's more intelligent -- and generally sonically less abrasive than much of what is heard on the radio or seen on television -- artists to listeners, British label Union Square Records compiled some of the genre's big names (the Pharcyde, Common, Pete Rock, Jeru the Damaja, the Roots, DJ Shadow, the Fugees, Q-Tip, and Madlib, who makes appearances in three different songs as Quasimoto, Madvillain, and Yesterdays New Quintet), all of whom fall nicely into the Native Tongues-inspired conscious, intelligent, and yes, mellow category that the two-disc album is trying to showcase. The beats (there are some remixes, be warned; though they're all pretty decent) are jazzy and smooth, with clean and generally sparse production that nearly echoes off the skyscrapers of the East Coast cities where most of the artists are from (Madlib and Manchester duo Rae & Christian being a few of the exceptions). The flow is tight, and the rhymes, reflecting on life and the world around, are good. Which makes Mellow Hip-Hop Sessions a nice, consistent release that should be perfect for talking and hanging out to during those hot summer nights in the city. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide