Constant Energy Struggles

Audio Mixer: Ben Cybulsky.
Photographer: James Meierotto.
Tech N9ne's Strange Music label has some "true hip-hop" releases in its back catalog, for sure, but when Ces Cru puts down "We diversified the label/They called it 'Strange-hop'" within their first minute of their debut for the label, they're merely getting the issue out of the way. From then on, it's right to business, street business, that is, with a classic, Mobb Deep feel for the beats and the flow, topped with a Black Star-quality rhyme book. Rappers Ubiquitous and Godemis make up this grand Cru while production comes from the likes of Michael "Seven" Summers, Info Gates, and JL B. Hood. Not the usual strange from Strange but vital no matter what label it reps on the back cover. ~ David Jeffries