THE BREAKDOWN: BK One - Radio do Canibal

Essential Tracks: 

The True & Living (ft. Raekwon & I Self Divine)

Blood Drive (ft. Slug)

Philly Boy (ft. Black Thought)

A Day's Work (ft. P.O.S.

Oh man, hip hop was due for a quality release. Sure, Raekwon, Mos Def and Brother Ali dropped some pretty impressive rap albums last year, Kid Cudi piqued some interest, and Wale didn't entirely disappoint. But Bk-One's Radio do Canibal mix combines the novelty of a mixtape with album-worthy production that is an entirely different manner of compelling.

There's not really a dominant theme here; Bk-One favors latin rhythms on the few interludes throughout, and on the impressive instrumental "Tema do Canibal," but the tendency only subtly invades much of the rest of the album. For instance, he favors a (Sean Connery era) 007 aesthetic for Slug's "Blood Drive," while providing a shadowy Spanish-tinged backdrop for the Brother Ali and Scarface duet "American Nightmare."

All of the MC's are near the top of their game, and Bk-One wraps into a tight, digestible package. The highlights are many, and the lulls are few.

The True & Living feat. Raekwo...

Blood Drive feat. Slug - BK-On...

THE ANTI-HYPE: Felt - Felt 3: A Tribute to Rosie Perez

Man, this thing is muddled. Just a murky, repetitive mess.

Aesop Rock, I loved your last album. The production was amazing: eclectic, upbeat, and perfectly attuned to you unique stream-of-consciousness delivery. Whoever produced that album did a great job.

But I see you decided to go a different direction on this one.

An odd choice, to use the same thudding bass drum on every track, thus ensuring that this 20-track smorgasbord (about ten tracks too long) was both boring and unnecessarily brooding.

Slug and Murs, you also decided to bring your C-game, preferring generic first draft quality to your normally more polished narratives. Check out this laziness courtesy of Murs ("The Prize"): "We grew up in the same environment, shared the same spray paint and markers and shit/Now you lookin' for an early retirement because every day you hate on me you talk like a bitch/Scared the hell out you didn't I? Sitting with your girl on the couch watchin' You Tube/ Couldn't even look me in the eye, tried to play it off like 'what's up my dude?'" I guess it was one of those you-had-to-be there kind of stories.

Way too long. Way too sloppy. This duo just dropped a few notches in my book.

A reminder of the infinitely better Felt 2:

Morris Day - Felt