Subtle, 'ExitingARM' (Lex)
Playful hip-hop geeks show you every toy in their box.
By Mosi Reeves 05.13.08 7:28 PM
Kidz in the Hall, 'The In Crowd' (Duck Down)
Ivy Leaguers spur nostalgia for polka dots and Ballys.
By Mosi Reeves 05.13.08 7:20 PM
This Chicago duo, who met as undergrads at the University of Pennsylvania, hearken back to the preppy, '80s hip-hop of Leaders of the New School and Kwam é.
M83, 'Saturdays = Youth' (Mute)
Andie and Duckie get lost on a Gallic new-age vacation.
By Mosi Reeves 04.15.08 4:18 PM
French electronic producer Anthony Gonzalez has always teetered between technological brilliance and oversynthesized pomposity. But his fourth album finally tips the balance, as it replicates the pimply, overwrought teen steam of John Hughes flicks and Tangerine Dream soundtracks.
Guilty Simpson, 'Ode to the Ghetto' (Stones Throw)
Hard-eyed tough-guy tales, endorsed by a studio legend.
By Mosi Reeves 03.25.08 3:40 PM
Guilty Simpson is the most recent Detroit bully blessed by the late J Dilla. The producer contributed a few tracks to Ode to the Ghetto, Guilty's coming out party, along with Madlib, D12's Denaun Porter, Black Milk, and other backpack thugs. The overall sound is impressively bleak, typified by hard, stomping bass drums.
Beans, 'Thorns' (Adored and Exploited)
American Gangster, if it were about a comic-book collector.
By Mosi Reeves 02.19.08 8:29 PM
Shape of Broad Minds, 'Craft of the Lost Art' (Lex)
Is this underground beatmaker a possible successor to Dilla?
By Mosi Reeves 11.23.07 4:00 AM
Craft of the Lost Art is essentially a showcase for the formidable talents of Philly-based producer Jneiro Jarel. Layering handclaps over a whirling dervish of guitars on "OPR8R" and pumping out squelchy glitch-funk for "Lullabanger," he blends hip-hop and electronics with a fresh style reminiscent of Madlib and J Dilla at their abstract best.
