KRS-ONE - Maximum Strength

Released last year, Maximum Strength sounds much better than what an artist's 21st album should have the chance of doing.

But if you feel hiphop with reggae is played out (I don't), maybe you should pass on these.

KRS-ONE - Beware

KRS-ONE - All My Men

The Jacka - The Jack Artist

More Crime (Barney) was one of the great standout tracks on Cormega's Legal Hustle compilation. Listening through The Jack Artist, it's clear that The Jacka got enough greatness to fill up a full length. He continues to lay down his raps with the understated, down to earth, reflective veteran confidence we learned to love on More Crime. And just like on that track the production is laidback and dreamy (sometimes even trippy; maybe that's a Bay Area thing), built from the ground up with soul-samples that are treated with the attention and innovative spirit we know from a Ghostface record.

Feel This Clip displays a more hostile G-Funk, all pitched, psychotic Starchild raps and anger management synthesizers. You must balance the force. But when that fades into F@#k With the Mob we're reminded a problem with one too many of these modern rap albums: too many guest raps.

Still, The Jack Artist is one of the more interesting rap albums of recent times.

Playboy Tre - Liquor Store Mascot

Listening to this, it's no longer relevant to talk about "southern rap", as if it was a separate entity. This tape, like much other rap from the Southern states, transcends stereotypes and expectations. In a way it reminds me of Jay-Z, both the beats and the raps, except that I'd much rather listen to Playboy Tre. Ultramagnetic to the microphone, he got truckloads of charisma.


Other rap these days:

Max Minelli - Backpack Dreams & Hip Hop Wishes. Another southern over-achiever lays down technical raps over carefully selected slices of classic NY-boom bap. That's a recipe for success.



And these days, when the weather is warm you have to listen to some svenska klassiker:

Ken - Underjorden

Ken - Situation STHLM