Fantastic 2

Amazon.com

Hands folded across the chest. Relaxed but ready for action. Fantastic Volume 2 captures Slum Village’s swellegant b-boy stance on record. The Detroit crew’s long-awaited debut is loaded with muscular, simmering beats. By turns relaxing and stimulating, it further establishes producer Jay Dee (known for his board work for De La Soul, Q-Tip, Common, and more) as a production force. His thick, red-blooded rhythms range from the crunchy, organic drums on “I Don’t Know,” punctuated with sly James Brown vocal samples, to the percolating, bass-laced “Get Dis Money.” Though they’re drowning in underground accolades, Slum Village aren’t intellectual navel-gazers or lyrical geniuses. Rappers Baatin, T3, and Jay Dee use their quirky vocal chemistry to illuminate the lush rhythms. They want you to shake your ass to their music–they even provide instructions. –Lizz Mendez Berry