Collabs Tape

Scratching like a madman, DJ Junkaz Lou aggressively blends a set of collabs and remixes for Kool Keith's two-CD Collabs Tape, one of the most hip-hop-feeling releases from the man since his days in the Ultramagnetic MC's. The guest list has a lot to do with the street feel of the album with folks like Chino XL, Guru, and Ice-T bringing this brother from another planet back down to the sneaker-wearing hood where battle rapping and freestyling are favored over concept albums and esoteric projects. The same cannot be said for Keith's team-up with the equally "out there" Ol' Dirty Bastard, but if you're thinking "Mankind Theme" is some long lost track from the two, it's not. It's just "Wreck" from the WWF Aggression collection retitled, something the Collabs Tape does elsewhere. There are barely any liner notes and figuring out where most of these tracks originally appeared takes some Internet search-engine savvy, but this stark presentation is perfectly underground mixtape and a minor complaint when faced with so much prime Kool Keith presented in such a fierce, overwhelming mix. ~ David Jeffries