MANTRONIX Mantronix: The Album (Warlock) cd 13.98

MANTRONIX That's My Beat (Soul Jazz) cd 21.00
Compiled by legendary musician / producer / remixer Kurtis Mantronik, this is a collection of tracks from the late '70s and early '80s, all of which he considers not only super influential on his own work, but also typical of the groundbreaking dance / hip hop / electro / disco / house music being made in New York at this time. If you're a fan of ESG or any of the music on the two "Disco not Disco" comps, you're gonna love this too. It's a fantastic collection of tracks covering everyone from Art of Noise to Yellow Magic Orchestra, Visage, Yello and T-La Rock. More than easily standing up to today's scrutiny, none of the tracks sound dated in a bad way at all. Another great comp from Soul Jazz, the London store/label that brought us the In the Beginning There Was Rhythm comp, the 100-400% Dynamite collections, etc. Highly recommended!
RealAudio clip: FUNKY 4 PLUS 1 "That's the Joint"
RealAudio clip: YELLOW MAGIC ORCHESTRA "Computer Games"
RealAudio clip: VISAGE "Pleasure Boys"

MARL, MARLEY The Best Of Cold Chillin' (Cold Chillin') 2cd 16.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Double disc reissue of legendary producer Marley Marl's first two full length albums, released in '88 and '91 respectively. Queens-born Marley Marl *founded* the Cold Chillin' label whose Juice Crew in turn launched the careers of Roxanne Shante, Masta Ace, Biz Markie, Kool G Rap, etc. These two albums feature all of those mentioned above, also LL Cool J (Marl produced his million-selling Mama Said Knock You Out), Big Daddy Kane, Heavy D, and more. The cuts are bright and crisp with sampled 'n looped hooks galore. Cool.
RealAudio clip: "The Symphony"
RealAudio clip: "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize"

MARLEY, BOB Chant Down Babylon (Tuffgong / Island) cd 17.98
In contrast to the exceptional compilation from Trojan records of 70's Jamaican producers and vocalists performing Marley's numbers, this reeks of major label exploitation. "Duets" with the legendary Bob Marley and contemporary chartbusters Erykah Badu, Krayzie Bone, Guru, Rakim, Busta Rhymes, Lauren Hill, Lost Boyz, MC Lyte, The Marley Brother & The Ghetto Youths Crew, Steven Tyler & Joe Perry, Chuck D, and The Roots.

MASTA KILLA No Said Date (Nature Sounds) cd 14.98

MASTER P Ghetto Postage (No Limit) cd 16.98

MASTER P MP Da Last Don (No Limit/Priority) 2cd 19.98
Just as Master P (the P stands for Perry if you must know...) has brought his trademarked "Ugh!" to universal recognition for symbolizing all things id (i.e. fucking, getting fucked up, fucking other people up, etc...), he releases his final album. Joined by his No Limit soldiers (Sylkk the Shocker, Mystikal, Mia X, and the newly signed Snoop Dogg), P has created a claustrophobic hip hop masterpiece of beats so hard they're brittle under the weight of the superb vocal delivery. As with all No Limit records, it's complete with the utterly gauche yet entirely captivating, Jeff Koons-as-a-teenager-with-Photoshop graphics... this time with holographic cover.

MATERIAL Intonarumori (Axiom) cd 16.98
The flood of Bill Laswell-related material continues, and as a result it's hard for us to keep up and get even some of it on this list...so, better late than never, here's the newest disc from Bill's long-running and generally-interesting band/project Material. The title of "Intonarumori" refers to Italian Futurism, a more relevant title might have been "The Guest MC Record", featuring as it does the likes of Kool Keith, Flavor Flav, Scotty Hard, Killah Priest. Other participants include Material-alum Lori Carson, Bernie Worrell, Ted Parsons, Mr. Ken, Eddie Def, DJ Disc, DXT...a cast of thousands, actually, too many to name. Anyway, this is a pretty cool hip hop album. Fans of any of the above names, as well as Wordsound/Crooklyn Dub stuff in general, should check this out.

MC HAWKING A Brief History Of Rhyme (Brash Recordings) cd 14.98

MEMPHIS BLEEK Understanding cd 16.98

METABASS 'N BREATH The Life and Times of a Beatboxer (Bomb Hip-Hop) cd 12.98

METAL FINGERS (MF DOOM) PRESENTS Special Herbs, Vol. 3 & 4 (Nature Sounds) cd 14.98

MF DOOM Live From Planet X (Nature Sounds) cd 14.98
We sure do love MF Doom. That laconic, tongue twisting, marble mouthed drawl, and the dense cartoonish hip hop-scapes he flows over. So so good. Here's a live forty minute set (frustratingly tracked as a single song) to hold you over until the next full length. All the hits are here, lots of between song banter, some crooning. Sounds as good as the record, if a little sloppy and fucked up. In fact Doom sounds a bit out of it, a little wasted maybe? But somehow it only seems to make everything sound better, Doom's flow is even more slippery and confusional, tripping gleefully over all the unlikely samples and the chopped up loops. Doooooooom!!!!!!!!!!!
MPEG Stream: "Change The Beat / Name Dropping"

MF DOOM MM..Food? (Rhymesayers) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The return of the masked mad villain AKA Viktor Vaughn, Xev Love X, and the first proper MF Doom record since Operation Doomsday. The recent Madvillain record, which paired Doom with Madlib, was one of the hip hop records of 2004 and hipped the public at large to what the hip hop world already knew, MF Doom was the ultimate hip hop arch villain. Lethal with the mic and always armed with a mouthful of weird wisdom. And Doom, like all great super villains, has a new obsession or plan for world domination. This time, it's food. Yep, FOOD! Not many folks could pull that off with out it turning into an unfunny joke, but Doom is obviously not your typical hip hop villain.
If you liked the Madvillain record you NEED this. The sound is not quite as dense and comic book-y, but it's still weird and wonderful, snippets of movie themes looped into hiccuppy groovescapes, lots and lots of dialogue from cartoons (even the Herculoids!!!) and movies, most about superheroes vs. supervillains or of course, food, simple bumping beats, and funky jazzy riffs, all very playful and humorous (occasionally even laugh out loud funny). But as always it's all about Doom's flow, a lazy, mumbly drawl, sort of stoned, sort of sleepy, but always sharp tongued and rife with alliteration, ridiculous metaphor, and dazzling wordplay.
Some of the best tracks though are the crazy sonic collages, with no rapping, entirely built from triumphant superhero soundtrack loops underscoring ridiculous sort-of-coversations about food and foes, cobbled together from various film clips and sonic snippets.
The cover is amazing as well, rendered comic book / grafitti style by artist Jason Jagel featuring Doom eating cereal with little marshmallow Doom masks, petting a murderous kitty while smoking a cigar, and of course eating food!
This could very well have been the hip hop record of 2004 if that Madvillain record hadn't also come out this year!
MPEG Stream: "Beef Rapp"
MPEG Stream: "Hoe Cakes"
MPEG Stream: "Potholderz"

MF DOOM MM..Food? (Rhymesayers) lp 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The return of the masked mad villain AKA Viktor Vaughn, Xev Love X, and the first proper MF Doom record since Operation Doomsday. The recent Madvillain record, which paired Doom with Madlib, was one of the hip hop records of 2004 and hipped the public at large to what the hip hop world already knew, MF Doom was the ultimate hip hop arch villain. Lethal with the mic and always armed with a mouthful of weird wisdom. And Doom, like all great super villains, has a new obsession or plan for world domination. This time, it's food. Yep, FOOD!
Not many folks could pull that off with out it turning into an unfunny joke, but Doom is obviously not your typical hip hop villain.
If you liked the Madvillain record you NEED this. The sound is not quite as dense and comic book-y, but it's still weird and wonderful, snippets of movie themes looped into hiccuppy groovescapes, lots and lots of dialogue from cartoons (even the Herculoids!!!) and movies, most about superheroes vs. supervillains or of course, food, simple bumping beats, and funky jazzy riffs, all very playful and humorous (occasionally even laugh out loud). But as always it's all about Doom's flow, a lazy, mumbly drawl, sort of stoned, sort of sleepy, but always sharp tongued and rife with alliteration, ridiculous metaphor, and dazzling wordplay.
Some of the best tracks though are the crazy sonic collages, with no rapping, entirely built from triumphant superhero soundtrack loops underscoring ridiculous sort-of-coversations about food and foes, cobbled together from various film clips and sonic snippets.
The cover is amazing as well, with Doom rendered comic book / grafitti style by artist Jason Jagel featuring Doom eating cereal with little marshmallow Doom masks, petting a murderous kitty while smoking a cigar, and of course eating food!
This could very well have been the hip hop record of the year if that Madvillain record hadn't also come out this year!
MPEG Stream: "Beef Rapp"
MPEG Stream: "Hoe Cakes"
MPEG Stream: "Potholderz"

MF DOOM Operation: Doomsday (Fondle 'Em) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MF DOOM / MF GRIMM MF Doom / MF Grimm ep (Landspeed) cd 10.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
Seven new tracks and seven new instrumentals from ex-members of the now legendary KMD. Some of the freshest hip hop we've heard in a little while.

MISSION CARTEL PRESENTS Electrosox (Breaks Ahead) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MISSION CARTEL PRESENTS Soul Keeper (Breaks Ahead) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MISSION CARTEL PRESENTS Vinyl Hedz (Breaks Ahead) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
An excellent breakbeat LP for DJs needing good material to scratch, all compiled by one of our fave turntablists and Mission resident DJ Quest (Live Human) and DJ Too Fresh. Funny quotes about people 'scratching', awesome human beatbox stuff (some over the theme to the Pink Panther!), interesting and nonpredictable breakbeats. Recommended for DJs. Vinyl only, naturally.

MIXMASTER MIKE Anti-Theft Device (Asphodel) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The sexy mustachioed Invisible Skratch Pikl, and now Beastie Boys DJ, breaks out with this excellent full length. As Oliver Wang rightly points out in the SF Bay Guardian, this record is worlds apart from the recent Shiggerfragger Skratch Piklz cd, which featured multi-turntable improvisations. Anti-Theft Device is more tightly composed, never lets up for a second -- it's clear that the Mix Master worked really hard on this record... and has come up with a full on car-stereo-worthy beatbox classic. Refreshingly free of "filler", and most of us here think it is much better than the Beastie Boys record. Lastly, the CD booklet folds out into a mini-poster.

MIXMASTER MIKE Anti-Theft Device (Asphodel) lp 11.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The sexy mustachioed Invisible Skratch Pikl, and now Beastie Boys DJ, breaks out with this excellent full length. As Oliver Wang rightly points out in the SF Bay Guardian, this record is worlds apart from the recent Shiggerfragger Skratch Piklz cd, which featured multi-turntable improvisations. Anti-Theft Device is more tightly composed, never lets up for a second -- it's clear that the Mix Master worked really hard on this record... and has come up with a full on car-stereo-worthy beatbox classic. Refreshingly free of "filler", and most of us here think it is much better than the Beastie Boys record. Lastly, the CD booklet folds out into a mini-poster.

MIXMASTER MIKE Bangzilla (Scratch Recordings) cd 15.98
Maybe I haven't had enough coffee today or my cold is blocking these beatz from my brain, but San Francisco native Mix Master Mike (see also Invisibl Skratch Piklz; see also Beastie Boys) bringz it hard with his newest releaze, Bangzilla. MMM's technique is maztered here and with no MC diztraction, hiz mixez are of a near-vomituz rate. But iz it awezome? Indeedz.
MPEG Stream: "Bangzilla"
MPEG Stream: "Tranzmission"

MIXMASTER MIKE Eye Of The Cyklops (Asphodel) cdep 6.98
Beastie Boys' DJ and Scratch Pikl MMM is back on wheels of steel with this four-track ep.

MIXMASTER MIKE Return Of The Cyklops (Asphodel) cd 13.98
Beastie Boys' DJ and Scratch Pikl MMM returns with the follow-up to his cdep Eye Of The Cyclops.

MIXMASTER MIKE Suprize Packidge (Asphodel) 12" 6.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
One of the very best, dynamic and exciting pieces from Mike's recent Anti Theft Device album, "Suprize Packidge" utilizes a cool sample from "The Taking of Pelham 123", and is here presented in its original form plus a remix by the ubiquitous Automator (we mean that in a nice way, Dan). Also included are three other pieces, at a very budget price for the cd format. You can't go wrong.

MIXMASTER MIKE Suprize Packidge (Asphodel) cdep 3.98
One of the very best, dynamic and exciting pieces from Mike's recent Anti Theft Device album, "Suprize Packidge" utilizes a cool sample from "The Taking of Pelham 123", and is here presented in its original form plus a remix by The Ubiquitous Automator (we mean that in a nice way, Dan). Also included are three other pieces, at a very budget price for the cd format. You can't go wrong.

MIXMASTER MIKE Valuemeal 12 Inch Combo Deluxe (Asphodel) 12" 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
3 turntablist pieces from the sexiest Skratch Pikl.

MIXMASTER MIKE Wrists of Fury (ISP Vision) videotape 5.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
There's a disembodied cartoon wrist on cover.

MOS DEF The New Danger (Geffen) cd 14.98
It's the much anticipated follow up to his highly acclaimed Black On Both Sides from way back in 1999. By his resume it was looking like Mr. Def was going to continue with his acting career and forsake his brief stint in the music business. With a cameo from Shuggie Otis on guitar, and production from the likes of Kanye West, we thought for sure we were going to hear something great. Did The New Danger meet our (high) expectations? Yes, and no. Some of us here were thrown a bit by how different this eclectic album is from its predecessor. And not everyone is a fan of all the styles that Mos Def throws into the mix on this genre-hopping disc. Whatever the case, others of us and our peeps think this record is one of the best pop music releases of 2004 -- yes, pop. Despite its heavy, slice-of-reality lyrics, and occasional use of metal riffs, this is a pop record.
The New Danger flows like a beautifully made mix-tape, moving through a variety of genres with remarkable continuity. From early Funkadelic funk/blues ("Black Jack") to gritty urban hip-hop ("The Rape Over"), to Marvin Gaye-inspired soul ("Modern Marvel") to catchy funk/metal ("Zimzallabim"), Mos Def pulls out all the stops... and manages to combine them into a cohesive whole. Part of that is directly attributable to the extremely talented Black Jack Johnson band that Mos Def has assembled. Talk about street cred, Black Jack Johnson has it all over the place. The roster reads as follows: funk keyboard legend Bernie Worrell (P-Funk), drummer Will Calhoun (Living Color), bassist Doug Wimbish (Sugarhill Records, Tackhead, Living Color), and guitar by none other than Gary "Dr. Know" Miller of Bad Brains! These guys insure that no one will ever mistake Black Jack Johnson for Body Count, as they combine taste and restraint along with their considerable chops. There is plenty of fine musicianship, but it's the songs that really stand out. Worrell, in particular, is great on "Freaky Black" which comes off like the best of Schoolly D as rapped over infectious funk-metal all held down by positively filthy funk keyboards.
Maybe this record isn't genius, maybe it isn't going to be as influential as Black On Both Sides, and maybe it does make too many concessions to being a pop record (endlessly repeated choruses etc.). The thing that is certain is that "The New Danger" is spectacularly produced, extremely well-played, full of surprises, and relentlessly listenable. This moved into heavy rotation at my house after only a couple of spins, and two weeks later it has yet to disappoint.
MPEG Stream: "Ghetto Rock"
MPEG Stream: "Sex, Love and Money"
MPEG Stream: "Modern Marvel"

MOS DEF True Magic (Geffen) cd 15.98
DUMBEST IDEA EVER. A special "no art work" (no booklet!!) rushed version to beat the folks who leaked the album onto the internet before the actual release date... WTF?
MPEG Stream: "True Magic"
MPEG Stream: "Thug Is A Drug"

MOUNTAIN BROTHERS Self: Vol. 1 (Pimpstrut) cd 14.98
The Mountain Brothers are a Philly trio of Chinese American descent. Signed to powerhouse hip hop label Columbia/Ruffhouse a while back (only to realize how hard it can suck being on a major label), this is their selfreleased debut full length. Here's an excerpt from Ollie Wang's review from the Bay Guardian: "Self: Vol. 1, nearly three years in the making, hardly sounds dated, providing a refreshing alternative to the monotonous commercial drone. A brotherhood from another hood, the M.B.s are a welcome sign that with hip-hop's maturity comes diversity."

MOUNTAIN BROTHERS Self: Vol. 1 (Pimpstrut) lp 14.98
The Mountain Brothers are a Philly trio of Chinese American descent. Signed to powerhouse hip hop label Columbia/Ruffhouse a while back (only to realize how hard it can suck being on a major label), this is their selfreleased debut full length. Here's an excerpt from Ollie Wang's review from the Bay Guardian: "Self: Vol. 1, nearly three years in the making, hardly sounds dated, providing a refreshing alternative to the monotonous commercial drone. A brotherhood from another hood, the M.B.s are a welcome sign that with hip-hop's maturity comes diversity."

MR. DEAD Metabolics Volume II: Dawn Of The Dead (WordSound) cd 14.98
Metabolics were the least crazy of all the WordSound artsists, being just a solid, old school rap group, albeit with some added darkness. But on what we assume is the Metabolics second album, Mr. Dead becomes the focus and things get a little weirder. But only a little. The cover is demented, and there are some weird intros, and the lyrical bent is a little more 'crazy', but overall, it remains just a solid, old school rap record.

MR. DEAD Metabolics Volume II: Dawn Of The Dead (WordSound) lp 14.98
Metabolics were the least crazy of all the WordSound artsists, being just a solid, old school rap group, albeit with some added darkness. But on what we assume is the Metabolics second album, Mr. Dead becomes the focus and things get a little weirder. But only a little. The cover is demented, and there are some weird intros, and the lyrical bent is a little more 'crazy', but overall, it remains just a solid, old school rap record.

MR. DIBBS Abduction of The Times 6.66 (Mary Joy) cd 12.98

MR. DIBBS Primitive Tracks (Cease And Desist) cd 13.98

MR. DIBBS Primitive Tracks (Landspeed) lp 12.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.

MR. LEN Class X (Tribute To Company Flow) (Smacks) cd 14.98

MR. LEN Pity The Fool (Matador) cd 14.98
THIS IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PRINT OR OTHERWISE UNAVAILABLE TO US AT THE MOMENT, SO PLEASE DO NOT ORDER IT. SORRY.
The Holy Trinity of underground hip hop, Company Flow / Def Jux / Anticon, can seemingly do no wrong. And here they strike again. This time it's Mr. Len of Company Flow, with a record of dark and sinister gloom-funk, all staticky a.m. radio wah wah and crunchy stutter-step rhythms and mutated Vince Guaraldi pianos. Like being in a Argento horror movie where all the creatures and creeps lurking in the alleys are demented rappers looking to rhyme you to death. This shit is sick! Loads of guest MCs including Chubb Rock, The Juggaknots, Steady Roc, Mr. Live, Q-Unique and a bunch more.
RealAudio clip: "Get Loose"
RealAudio clip: "The Hurt"

MR. LIF Emergency Rations (Definitive Jux) cd ep 11.98
Boston's Mr. Lif releases an eight-track cdep, a concept album of sorts, wherein Lif the MC has supposedly been taken by government agents or something, presumably because his clearly-delivered message is so insurgent. The liner notes are even written by his compadre Akrobatik: "As one of Lif's closest friends, I know that he provided sociopolitical commentary in hopes that his listeners would discuss the issues brought forth..." Cannibal Ox's El-P lends his talents to two tracks. The cd comes with two videos you can play on your computer. It's good.
RealAudio clip: "Phantom / feat. El-P"
RealAudio clip: "Heavy Artillery"

MR. LIF Emergency Rations (Definitive Jux) lp 11.98
Boston's Mr. Lif releases an eight-track cdep, a concept album of sorts, wherein Lif the MC has supposedly been taken by government agents or something, presumably because his clearly-delivered message is so insurgent. The liner notes are even written by his compadre Akrobatik: "As one of Lif's closest friends, I know that he provided sociopolitical commentary in hopes that his listeners would discuss the issues brought forth..." Cannibal Ox's El-P lends his talents to two tracks. The cd comes with two videos you can play on your computer. It's good.

MR. LIF Enter the Colossus (Definitive Jux) cd 11.98

MR. LIF I Phantom (Definitive Jux) cd 15.98
Def Jux alert! Mr Lif's first full length is pretty great, something I didn't expect after hearing his (admittedly good, but not great) two prior EPs Emergency Rations and Enters the Colasus. I Phantom is a concept album, but don't let that deter you -- it's kinda nice to have an album length narrative with which to gain insight into Lif's vision of the world as full of the pressures and stress of social, governmental, cultural fucked-ness. Basically, as Lif spells out in exruciating detail in the liner notes, the story is one black man's life, starting with him getting killed during a robbery, resurrected by hip hop, gets a normal job, hates it, quits, etc etc, lots of tragedies involving marriage, suicide, murder and the end of the world. Pretty bleak but super interesting, and the production is courtesy Cannibal Ox's El-P, Fakts One, Insight, etc. -- brighter and cleaner than the rest of the Def Jux catalog but just as apocalyptic and heavy and layered and weird sounding in all the right ways. Aesop Rock, El-P, Insight, and others also guest on the mic. Compelling, but I'm worried it's not going to get the attention it deserves, so listen to the soundclips for sure.
RealAudio clip: "A Glimpse at the Struggle"
RealAudio clip: "Earthcrusher"

MR. NOGATCO (A.K.A. KOOL KEITH) Nogatco Rd. (Insomniac Music) cd 13.98
It's been so long since we could whole heartedly rave about a Kool Keith record. A LONG time. Since Dr. Octagon maybe? Yeah, okay, we sorta dug Sex Style, but we much prefer the sci fi alien what-the-fuck KK to the kinky pervert KK for sure. And while Mr. Nogatco is no Dr. Octagon, it's as close as we've gotten in a long long time, so we'll take what we can get. This is some more of that Kool Keith freaky conspiracy theory shit, something about aliens, secret autopsies, you know the sort of thing. There's even a live alien dissection at the end of the disc, after a blissed out ambient skitterscape, with Keith nimbly leaping lyrically all over the fucking place, there's a strange microcassette recording of Keith talking all sorts of weirdness about some alien bodies they found in the desert, talking about their gel-type blood and stuff. What a nut. And so good to have him back in full freaked out space cadet mode. And while the music isn't quite as dense and deliriously wacked as the Automator's Octagonal beatscapes, producer IZ Real does all right, managing some pretty ominous X-FIles worthy sonic swells, plenty of haunting creep and cinematic crawl, moaning horns, rumbling drones, heavy metal guitars, a dark and doomy late night, rain soaked, blood drenched, government conspiracy, invaders from Mars series of freaky sci fi hip hop instrumentals for Keith as Mr. Nogatco to freak out over, and freak out he does, a flurry of surreal non sequiturs delivered in a lazy stoned drawl, an outerspace pod people mad as fuck flow, tales of dark space, bionic fuses, space men, eBay, elevation power, kinetics, mass gasses, credit cards, galaxy waxers, astronauts, dictators, force fields, green hands, slushies, rocketships and bikinis, laser corps, sneakers, lightning bugs, bubblegum, galactic foes, Jolly Ranchers, black hearts, hot milk, laser beams and all the other things Mr. Nogatco is fighting for, or battling against, or using to create a subatomic lightspeed jetliner, or just plain making up, in order to get in the pants of some three legged two headed space princess that he's supposed to be rescuing. Phew. Or maybe he's just plain nuts...
MPEG Stream: "Bionic Fuse"
MPEG Stream: "Night Flyer (Force Field)"

MS. TOI That Girl (Universal) cd 17.98
First solo record from Ms. Toi, the girl we all loved from that Ice Cube record ('put your back into it, put your ass into it') that seemed to play every five minutes a year or so back. We were kind of hoping M. Toi would follow the same trajectory as Amil, another guest-vocalist-turned-hip-hop-diva, who guested on a racy Jay-Z track and then put out a record on her own that was hard, and mean, and funky and fucking great. Unfortunately, it seems like it was more luck than talent that got Ms. Toi on Cube's track. This record has none of the grit or hardness, or catchiness and instead offers up a lightweight, lukewarm funk/R+B mess of watered down Young MC style hip hop and slow jam pap.

MUGGS Presents Soul Assassins II (RuffLife) cd 16.98

MULDROW, GEORGIA ANNE Olesi: Fragments Of The Earth (Stones Throw) cd 14.98
Caught us sorta snoozin' on this one! This release actually came out back in 2006, and Cup heard its strange soulful glory out in Michigan that year. However, its name promptly vanished from her memory banks and we couldn't track it down until now! From the bio provided by Stones Throw Records it sure sounds like Ms Muldrow grew up within close proximity to some cool shit! Her father invented instruments for Eddie Harris and her mother sang with Pharaoh Sanders. Whoa. Initially Olesi: Fragments Of The Earth seems like a disorienting jumbled mess, albeit a really awesome sounding one -- a bunch of different unrelated pieces heaped up precariously into a generous twenty one tracks. All the parts ring familiar on their own in their old R&B, (almost free-) jazz, hip hop and soul ways, but we've never heard them arranged together in quite as unconventional a fashion as this! As the album progresses the sense of disorientation lingers, but her fevered vocal delivery and undulating, loping grooves prove infectious. The album definitely walks the fine line between defiant genius and baked madness. Seriously 'out there', she clearly had a 'vision' for this but it might not be for everyone! A fierce and bizarre debut.
MPEG Stream: "Wrong Way"
MPEG Stream: "Skaw De Beast"

MURDERERS Irv Gotti Presents (Def Jam) cd 16.98
Brutal, catchy as fuck gangsta rap from these Def Jam/Ruff Ryder/ Murder Inc./Roc-A-Fella allstars. Sounds a lot like the last DMX record which is a good thing. With Jay-Z, Ja Rule, Vita, Black Child, and of course DMX.

MURS 3:16 The 9th Edition (Definitive Jux) cd 14.98
Def Jux can seemingly do no wrong. And this latest Murs joint proves that point again and again. On first listen, 3:16 seems a lot more 'normal' than a lot of Def Jux stuff (Cannibal Ox, El-P, etc.) but on closer listening, this record is really fucked up, sonically -and- lyrically. The loops are very old school, simple and bumping, but with lots of strange arrangements, Wu-Tang style sped up diva vocals, stuttery classic soul snippets and hiccupping stop/start beats. And then there's Murs' laconic delivery, lazy but animated and boisterous (sounding quite a bit like Del at times actually), spitting some wickedly clever, and occasionally downright hilarious lyrics.
MPEG Stream: "Bad Man!"
MPEG Stream: "3:16"