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DJ Wally The Stoned Ranger Rydes Again (Liquid Sky)
Chris Rock Bigger and Blacker (Dreamworks/Universal)
EPMD Out of Business (Universal) Does anybody remember when EPMD broke up? All I remember is hearing rumours from people who heard rumours from somewhere else that Erick and Parrish were not making dollars anymore. With the release of Out of Business, a whole lot of people thought they might split again, but it's not the case. The egotistical-savvy and boast-heavy duo claim that this is their last album of the 20th century. Fourteen new songs and 14 bonafide classics all in one shot. Do they still got it? Let's just say Erick and Parrish are making Millennium Ducats for sure. 7.5/10 (Scott C)
Company Flow Little Johnny From the Hospital (Rawkus) This is one twisted record right here. Not that I don't think it's dope, but I kind of listened to it the way you might watch a horror movie. You know something crazy is about to happen, but you don't know where or when. Company Flow vocals are completely nonexistent on this latest release, letting some truly deviant and arresting beats test your aural limits. There are 16 tracks here, so listen with extreme caution. 8.5/10 (Scott C)
Peshay Miles From Home (Blue/Universal)
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I can just picture the Wally character, hunkered over his decks, scratching his love handles and grinning like a magic monkey. If DJ Shadow was a little less ambitious and incapable of keeping a straight face, his shit might come off like this. Slouching hip hop beats (okay, some d&b as well) carry all kinds of wonky, dubby bong gurgles and mystery jive. Inspect "Mr. Beaver Smokes a Tree" for proof, or maybe "Noizes" with its kiddy album sample of "Listen to the noises, listen to them all/Some of them are very big, some of them are small." Therein lies the crux of the matter. Hi-ho, silverhair! 8/10 (Rupert Bottenberg)
In Rock's defense, I must say the idea of comedy CDs baffles me; if part of what makes comedy funny is that you haven't heard it before, why listen to it over and over? While there are some funny bits in here, especially the discussion of the "black mall" (that run-down, used-to-be-a-mall found in every town) and a parody of that "Wear Sunscreen" song, there are also far too many Clinton jokes that weren't even funny before the scandal. 6/10 (Sarah Groff-Palermo)
Peshay has long been recognized for his ability to add a little jazza-nova flavour into the drum & bass mix, and he pulls out all the stops for his first full-length project. He enlists the help of some heavyweight talents like Photek, Decoder (who did all the mastering) and house diva Kym Mazelle, who belts it out on the track "Truly." The Pesh also dips his hand in the downtempo pool and comes out with a couple of very fresh cuts on the fusion tip and one hip hop piece featuring the talents of J-Live. 9/10 (Krista)