Underground hip-hop is about to come out. With such popular acts as Mos Def and Pharoe Monch breaking into the spot light, more and more acts are coming to the forefront.
Tommy Boy Black Label just issued Hip Hop 101, a compilation of some of their most promising and up and coming underground artists.
The disc features the talented executive production hands of The Native Tongues themselves, De La Soul. Most hip-hop heads will be disappointed to find that
De La Soul has taken time away from their much- anticipated new album. However, The Native Tongues have not wasted their time.
De La Soul even found time to bless the album with a new single, “So Good.”
With special guests Camp Lo, De La drops some classic lyrics. The track revolves around the individual members trying to find a woman with the rare combination of brains and beauty.
“The girls look so good but their brains aren’t,t ready/ I don,t know/ I,d rather talk to a woman and keep this money coming heavy/ so here we go.”
De La adds a little flavor by altering the piano keys that hang in the background to continually bounce at different intervals.
The next track “Blast” comes from the fire spitting Left Coast MC, Defari. This track is Defari and his Liquid MC’s doing the hip hop community a favor as they “blast past and surpass the half ass MC’s.” Defari and his crew go on a lyrical tirade that defines the underground hip-hop scene.
The lyrics are crisp and boastful, perfect for a cipher at the Lyricist’s Lounge or an impromptu battle on the corner.
Talib Kweli and Tony Touch are hitting hard on “What They May Seem.” Talib Kweli is best known for his collaboration with Mos Def, Black Star.
However, Kweli shows that his lyrics are some of the best as he spits some of the wittiest and imaginative lyrics on the album. “Hide your crops/ here come the lyrical locust/ Hurry if your vision is blurry now focus is necessary/ You,re hopeless like an ex-Christian/ Me I’m on the next mission to knock it out the park like Scott Brosius.”
Tony Touch adds his lyrical skill, “Tony Touch the rest of ya’ll need to forfeit/ It ain’t the same kid the game went corporate/ I got to floss it in case you thought I lost it/ I’m still here hitting you in the cabeza/ Nevertheless while I,m drinking my cerveza/ Accordanita with a chica named Vanessa/ No pressure when I come to bless ya/ stop illing no way like Bob Dylan/ I’ll catch you on the rebound God willing.”
The next MC to be showcased is Royce The 5’9″. Royce made his debut on Eminem’s parade of profanity, The Slim Shady LP. Royce shows that he has flow and he shows flashes of the comic wit that made Eminem so popular. “My mom’s got Alzheimer’s/ my dad’s an alcoholic/ so last night I forgot to drive drunk and hit you.”
Royce also makes his lyrical presence felt on “I Won,t Be.” This track is another battle rhyme where Royce proceeds to boast of his microphone skills. “If I ain’t selling you rap I’m selling you coke/ Just when you thought I couldn’t get better I spoke/ I’m sending you back to the lab/ what will you equal after the math?/ I’m telling results/ I’m bad as they come/ time flies and I’m having some fun/ the second I spoke the battle is won.”
Hip Hop 101 does what it is supposed to do: show the newest, hottest rappers that will be coming to a record store near you soon. With De La Soul executive producing, Tommy Boy Black Label has put together a solid compilation. However, it still falls just short of the bar-raising Rawkus Records compilations of the past.
