Lotek Hi-Fi Lotek Hi-Fi

Lotek Hi-Fi feels like all the sound systems at the Notting Hill Carnival rolled into one-it’s a post-millennium genre mingle that makes you want to strap on your string vest, your Dunks and a gigantic boombox, and roll through the streets in a hyped-up retro-futurist stylee. Producer Wayne Bennett makes the outfit tick by freaking out on hip-hop’s basic BPM template-he combines dub echoes, ska drums and deep bass with dancehall’s boom, clack and bounce to create an album that literally bumps. A gruff Aurelius, reggae/soul singer Wayne Paul and rapper/toaster Earl J further nice up the area with a variety of vocal intonations, and lyrics that range from party rocking to philosophical. While Lotek Hi-Fi presents a variety of flavors, the album peaks at party tunes like “Percolator” and “Hey Yeh Yeh,” which pair an Atlanta crunk sensibility with minimal UK garage tech and classic Jamaican bravado. Rinsin’.

Pitman It Takes A Nation Of Tossers

Hip-hop loves a good gimmick. Kool Keith: Sex freak. Ol’ Dirty Bastard: Mentally ill baby daddy. And now Pitman: Northern coal miner obsessed with tea and biscuits. Toeing the line between comedy and dead seriousness, Pitman’s debut album, It Takes a Nation of Tossers, is that rare beast that contains joke raps and out-and-out club bangers, and actually pulls it off. On one of the album’s signature tracks, “Twat Farm Revisited,” Pitman whines about “trendy mothers driving Minis”, “playing Coldplay and drinking coffee” over a funky chicken break and some good old-fashioned boom bap. Like The Streets, Pitman is obsessed with banalities-but this means buying scouring pads, coal mining, complaining, drinking tea and doing the running man. It’s not for everyone, but Anglophiles, UK hip-hop heads, and anyone who loves a good plot should apply.

Rob Smith Up On the Downs

As half of definitive early-’90s acts Smith & Mighty and More Rockers, Rob Smith was largely responsible for bringing reggae and dub influences into the burgeoning electronic dance scene. On Up On the Downs, Smith occasionally speaks to the clubber-notably on a patois-heavy bass-monster known as “Question”-but mostly concentrates on pensive vibe tracks, peppering his album with trilling chimes, airy electronic woodwinds and, at one point, a miasma of rock guitars. All 12 tracks are more tasteful and toothsome than most downtempo fare, but knowing Smith’s talent with low-end frequencies, one might have hoped for something more raw.

The Streets All Got Oyur Runnins EP

Hungry fans of The Streets need only rush to the computer to obtain this EP-all the tracks are only available through download, either separately or as an eight-track bundle. All Got Our Runnins doesn’t disappoint-it’s the weed, not the fame, that’s gone to Skinner’s head (on record at least). New tracks include the cheeky “Give Me Back My Lighter” and “Streets Score,” as well as the title rap, whose production features a haunted house sound that just kills it. The label has even solved the problem of The Streets not actually being as streetwise as he once was by including a bumping UK garage rap remix of “Let’s Push Things Forward,” Mr. Fidgit’s roughneck drum & bass version of “Don’t Mug Yourself” and-for the softies-uplifting retreads of “Weak Become Heroes” and “It’s Come to This” by Ashley Beedle and High Contrast respectively. Runnin’.

Bobbito Earthtones

The vibe of Bobbito’s Earthtones compilation calls to mind lazy summer days sitting in front of the bodega on fold-out chairs, watching old men play cards and Dominican girls walk by in too-tight pants. It’s got an easy swing-but it’s not full of the hip-hop that this NYC urban statesman has become known for. Instead, Bobbito presents Latin, funk and soul sounds ranging from the flute-happy salsa house of La Gente Urbana’s “Osanyin” to the sauntering ’70s gangster soul of Three Pieces’ “Backed Up Against The Wall.” The quality of the tracks varies from downright funky to wanky elevator jazz, but if you still seek inspiration from the ’70s, you’ll find something to jam to here.

Dos Noun & Mr. burns It Can’t Be Wrong EP

Oh, man. Two white guys in suits drinking scotch? They’re just askin’ for it. Good thing I listened anyway. Yes, this record would clear any non-Skribble Jam dancefloor, but you can’t ignore the power of “Confessions of a Teenage Wafrican American,” where Dos Noun blows his own spot with lines like, “Am I just trying to beat blacks at their art form?” It won’t make you dance, but it’ll definitely make you think, and hip-hop still has room for that.

Greans Greanlight District

Multi-MC groups have a tendency to sound concocted and disjointed, but not Greans. They come off as organic, as if you were on the periphery of a skilled cipher with the MCs comfortably trading thoughtful, cohesive flows. On “Funky,” Greans pays homage to their roots as Ohio players over a suitably funked-out track. Meds and DJ Pioneer hold down the production duties (with help from fellow Ohio native Fat Jon on “Regrets” and Preme Ohio on the title track), giving the record a decidedly jazzy vibe overall. And although the sex rhymes on “Actin'” won’t be everyone’s cup of T&A, the MCs’ flows always complement the tracks perfectly.

Babu w/ /Rakka and chance Infinite Ends to means/Do For Self

Babu’s not the most technical turntablist, just the funkiest. On “Ends to Means,” he links with fellow Dilated People Rakaa (verses) and Evidence (hooks) for a tale of getting by by getting by. Up-and-comer Jake One hooks up the soulful samples and Babu gets nasty on the cut. The flip features Babu on the boards while Chance Infinite of Self Scientific spits a tale of self-reliance with some ingenious vocal samples from Tribe’s “Keep It Rollin’.”

3582 Situational Ethics

3582 refers to the old beeper codes of Fat Jon (Five Deez) and J. Rawls (Lone Catalysts), but for some reason listeners are tempted to look for deeper meaning in this duo’s name as well as their music. Perhaps they’re misled by this album’s masterfully composed beats that range from baroque to Brazilian, often within the same song. Lyrically, Situational Ethics contains the realest of the real: unassuming discourses about cyberflirting (The “E”), diatribes on dating games (“As Bad As They Come” and “I Would Change”), diss tracks (“Loser Type” and “Look At You,” a take on Brand Nubian’s “Slow Down”), and even a drinking anthem (“Take It To The Face”), all tied together with sexy Spanish interludes. It’s not profoundly deep, just profoundly dope.

OH NOOh No Make Noise

Madlib’s little brother proves that there’s room for more than one dope producer/MC at the family dinner table. On “Make Noise,” flamenco guitars swell over hard-hitting drums to provide the perfect foundation for Oh No’s party-ready rhymes. On the flipside’s “Chump,” Lootpack’s DJ Romes joins Oh No over a cowbell-heavy beat to let you know that you really are a chump. They make a pretty convincing argument, too, and you can dance to it. Chump.

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