This one’s for my Mizzou people, you know who you are. Not only is Approach the best MC ever to hail from Kansas City, he swings a nice lisp (especially audible on “Hey Y’all”) and makes his own funky beats. This is straight-up party fodder for your mind à la J5, Lyrics Born, Talib Kweli — and ya don’t quit…
DJ Zeph
Raashan Ahmad unleashes a brief history lesson of dance moves whilst Zeph moves the crowd with his disco flash production.
Babbletron
Instrumentally sparse, lyrically thick head-nodders that — while decidedly unpretentious — exude the confidence of b-boys who know they’ll be around for a while.
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Variable Unit
Sinewy, smokey grooves bob and weave to Azeem’s verbal left-right combos. Major league hip hop at home in the underground.
Oddjobs
While their older material was oddly bouyant conscious hip-hop, Oddjobs’ latest (“Hypnotize”) turns down a dark alley toward straight-up griot poetry.
Libretto
Libretto’s thundering, street-savvy flow trades blows with gritty funk breaks — similar to the Lifesavas (whose Jumbo the Garbageman guests on “Volume”) or Michael Franti on some gangsta shhh…
Sixtoo
Halifax’s art-hop pioneer evolves his doomsday mic checks into full-blown audio armageddon (see “Storm Clouds & Silver Lining”) for his Ninja Tune debut.
Heiruspecs
Not rap, not jazz, not spoken word — at least not as you know it. Refreshingly tight live sessions that manage to reference Run-DMC and Mother Goose in the same verse with only a slight smirk.
Roosevelt Franklin
Mr. Len (Company Flow) and Kimani Rogers (Masterminds) straight clownin’ with mad flavor.
The Earl
Percolating jazzy breaks and clever cuts served up hot on a steaming bed of vocals. Recommended for fans of DJ Format.