This Generation

Audio Mixer: Isaac Romero.
Photographer: Van Styles.
This collaboration between two West Coast MCs from different eras proves to be even stronger than the sum of its parts. Murs plays the role of the big brother character somewhat, having been in the game a while longer than relative newcomer Fashawn, but the sense of camaraderie and interplay between the two cuts across lines of age and experience. True to their individual albums, This Generation is heavy on the kind of '70s and '80s sample-heavy beats that West Coast hip-hop producers made signature on classic '90s albums, but songs like "64' Impala" and the steel drum-sampling heaviness of "Slash Gordan" edge out of gangsta rap throwback territory with heightened production and club-ready drum tracks. The woozy acoustic guitar lines and R&B vocal hooks of "And It Goes" add further dimension to an album that's already brimming over with personality thanks to the chemistry between the two rhyme stylists and their ability to bring out the most inventive sides of one another. ~ Fred Thomas