After throwing props the way of
Biz Markie
and
Dr. Dre
's classic album
The Chronic
, Long Island rapper
R.A. the Rugged Man
offers his headline bio "I'm just a white boy born into what blacks invented/But I'm the baddest!," and with the funkiest of flows. If he mentioned an exciting mixing of
Twista
's speed,
De La Soul
's D.A.I.S.Y. Age attitude, and the modern swagger of the
Tech N9ne
-driven underground, that would be the headline review of this sophomore release,
Legends Never Die
, which follows his debut,
Die, Rugged Man, Die
, by eight-plus years. That's criminal, because when producers like
Mr. Green
,
Apathy
, and
Buckwild
come up with fresh, funky ideas,
R.A.
responds with excellence, and sometimes a
J-Zone
-sized sense of humor (check "Luv to Fuck" for
Talib Kweli
Redd Foxx
's genetics being spliced together, right before your ears). Start with the underground grinder "Sam Peckinpah," where
Vinnie Paz
Sadat X
spill some guts cross the floor, or jump right for "Definition of a Rap Flow (Albee 3000)," a biographical knockout with an infectious hook to boot. ~ David Jeffries