With a delivery that sounds like pitched down a notch, and a technical, streetwise proficiency that's -styled and just as solid, Gary, Indiana rapper is a rare find, but his odd come-up is arguably even more interesting. Promoted by websites with more of an indie spin and hanging with more left-field folk like , , and is a gruff thug who allows access to the avant side of the underground, something that's especially attractive to any edgy beatmaker with a love of hardcore lyrics. In the case of this superior collaboration called , that beatmaker is , the wonderfully cloudy king of groove who has long anchored the label to the street. Here, one of his hands is guided by , while the other is guided by , combining for some creeping, off-world karate movie themes like "Thuggin'" (where ' proudly admits his "Pants gonna be saggin' till I'm forty"), while "Broken" floats with, apt to its title, some dreamy broken beat soul (prompting to brilliantly ruminate "Swear I've seen everything but old age"). 's fans will have to do the most adapting, as the skittishness found on his series of releases is smoothed out with more chilled beats and longer running times, but the deliciously off-kilter production style is there and strong, influencing to go "Deeper" on the cut of the same name, where he views the local wrecks in his neighborhood as more mature than himself, simply because they're not dealing with this young man's game called "hip-hop". Startling numbers like the block-rockin' then dissolving "Real" crop up throughout the album and make this project even more than a sum of its parts, and with the track list flowing smoothly as attractive guests ( , and the list goes diversely and gloriously on) come and go, winds up excellent overall. Extra points are added for being a peerless success while still giving fans of enough familiar touchstones for easy access. ~ David Jeffries