"Defenders of the Underworld"
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Label: Battle Axe/Nu Gruv

Buc Fifty: great. Defari: talks about how the current big $$$ rap game is full of fools who only care about themselves. Great song. His Focused Daily album is a nice companion. Psycho Realm includes B-Real from Cypress Hill. Their Pow Wow track is among my many favorites here, and I actually like Psycho Realm better than B-Real's day job. Kool Keith brings Get Off my Elevator, and he's the main reason why I grabbed this in the first place. Moka Only's Variety has some cool lyrics, and good production. Same with Mr. Brady. Dilated Peoples are one of THE best crews anywhere. Del (tha Funky Homosapien) is on my short list for favotire MCs of all time (get Both Sides of the Brain and you'll see why). Aceyalone (of the Freestyle Fellowship) is a Super Human Hip Hop Head with an amazing delivery. Swollen Members (from Canada) just brought out a great cd this year (Balance), and The Arsonists are fantastic (do yourself a favor: "As the World Burns" is the full-length). Son Doobie (from Funkdoobiest) has one of the best songs with Buck 50 To Ya Face. Pep Love was also a very good addition to this cd, and now I have renewed hope for the state of hip-hop in the future.

--Jason Thornberry

http://www.nugruv.com/1st_floor/lobby.php3
http://www.battleaxerecords.com