Hip Hop Gold Dust (2005)

Chameleonic hip-hop producer Prince Paul mines the vaults for a 20-track compilation of odds and ends spanning his two-decade career. Though not quite the promised gold dust, there are some gems buried on Hip Hop Gold Dust, a disc of unreleased tracks and remixes from De La Soul, Biz Markie, Gravediggaz, Stetsasonic, and others. Surprisingly, it's the lesser-knowns who provide many of the best moments: the sad-sack rap of L.A. Symphony's ''Broken Now,'' Justin Warfield's trippy ''K Sera Sera,'' and May May's neo-funk empowerment anthem ''Real Man.''