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Definitive Jux Presents II
Definitive Jux Presents II is the rarest of artifacts: a label showcase album that's consistent, cohesive, and utterly exciting. Listening to this potent New York label's artists is like being inducted into a secret society where hip-hop is smart and brutal, immediate and experimental--a true street art. 2001's Def Jux Presents was notable for the brilliant last recordings of the legendary Company Flow and their mastermind MC, El-P, who incidentally owns the Def Jux label. El-P dominates this volume, as well, producing nearly half of the tracks and starring on two. One of these, "Stepfather Factory," is the epitome of the Def Jux style: a dense, fierce fuzz with lyrics whose sci-fi turns of phrase never weaken their emotional punch. There's nothing here from the label's other heavy hitters, Cannibal Ox, although Ox man Vast Aire does crop up alongside El-P as part of the Atoms Family collective. The new stars this time are elegant DJ Shadow-style RJD2, baroque rhymer Y@k Ballz, and ultrasharp Boston MC Mr. Lif, who manages to name-check Harry Potter and Troy McClure on "Sneak Preview." This is odd, vivid, 100 percent compulsive stuff. --John Mulvey