The most user friendly album album Def Jux ever put out? I’ll say. Singalongability? Check. Rhyme-that’d-impress-yer-gran? Check. Beats plundered from far and wide? Check. Top notch guests? Most def a check.‘Droppin’ Science Fiction’ is the debut album from Blackalicious’s Gift of Gab, Quannum head Lateef and Crown City Rockers member, producer Headnodic – collectively known as The Mighty Underdogs.
Despite eclectic sample origins the album hangs together sonically like a neck and noose. ‘Ill Vacation’ and ‘Science Fiction’, the most unlikely of bedfellows, sit cheek by jowl the latter being a Brazilian holiday breezer and the latter being a futuristic electro-fest. ‘Folks’, featuring French MC 20Syl, hits the reggae buttons whilst ‘Want You Back’ is a ballad dripping with feelings. And I could go on… it’s diverse.
Subject matter isn’t too confined either. Straight up cartoon violence on ‘Gunfight’ (featuring the king of cartoon MF Doom) shares CD space with the frantic ‘Aye’, a track dedicated to girls who make you say ‘Aye’. OK so that might be standard fare for a rap album, what else is there? Aforementioned love song (and another), Julian and Damien Marley assisted lament, a song about holidays, a track about laughable MCs, party tracks, tunes about the future…you get the picture.
Elsewhere features come from DJ Shadow (cuts of course) and the lovely LadyBug Mecca. Chali 2na, Raashan Ahmad (also of Crown City Rockers), Tash and Zion all pop up on ‘Walk Like a Warrior’ – a certified banger. Lyrics Born, Casual, Mr. Lif, and Akrobatik also appear and there’s a remix from British boy Fatboy Slim.
If you want a new Hip Hop album that you can listen to then this is it. The Mighty Underdogs have come up with an album on which, in my opinion, there is only one track that doesn’t work (‘Laughing’). It’s out now and is worth every penny of it’s price – buy it at all the usual places.
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