John Robinson is many things, but a business man is most certainly one of them. The emcee has affiliations with countless record labels and various high profile figures in the rap game. But when he’s not immersed in the actual process of making music, he’s working to help others realize their own musical aspirations. As President of Shaman Work Recordings, Robinson has been charged with hand picking artists and releases that all share the commonality of possessing a high quotient of not only entertainment, but of thoughtfulness and uniqueness.

Along the road that has taken Robinson to a coveted seat at a much under rated label, he’s had the time to put in work with Carlos Nino, but also DOOM when he was just plain ole MF Doom. The later collaboration yielded the work entitled Who is John Robinson?

First hitting the internets a number of months ago, the release date of the disc was slated for early November 2008, but really, I don’t believe that that was actually the date the disc hit the streets. Regardless of that point, the production by DOOM obviously is part of the draw to this offering. However, even a passing fan of the Masked Villain will recognize at least a few of the four recycled tracks on the disc. Of course, this particular criticism of the album isn’t Robinson’s fault, but DOOM just works in this mode. A number of the beats here that DOOM re-uses appear on one of his proper album as well as on one of the many Special Herbs discs.

It doesn’t matter though. Robinson’s flow is what brings fans to the table. And his voice, which sounds something like a rougher Talib Kweli, is used in this scenario to relate a sort of narrative over the entirety of the disc. The loose knit tale involves a man – named John Robinson – who has, in the past, wronged a number of people, including a few women, who recount the way in which they were taken in by this smooth talking business man.

The individual tracks don’t really serve to push that narrative forward – listeners must rely on those interspersed skits for that. But what Robinson does here, is critique not only the rap game, but gives a sort of primer for beginning one’s hip hop (or any genre for that matter) career.

“Indy 102” – ‘cause really who needs the 101 – takes listeners through a step by step description of how to get put on. There’s an explanation of not only what to look for and how to find management, but how to tour and what pitfalls one’s sure to incur. The ground that Robinson covers is pretty astounding considering that the track clocks in under four minutes. But each piece of information that is relayed here is actually tantamount to success. And considering the fact that John Robinson has made it this far by using all of this knowledge, fledgling acts have all the more reason to cop this disc and take heed.