Xodus: The New Testament (1992)

Maybe George Bush should have sent this New York-based rap crew to the Earth Summit, because they certainly know how to recycle. Xodus' funky, extended introduction, in which disconnected voices dis the group over a throbbing bass line, sounds unmistakably like the opening of Public Enemy's ''Fear of a Black Planet.'' One of Xodus' more climactic moments, the antipolice ''F.T.P.,'' owes its chorus to N.W.A's 1988 hit, ''F--- Tha Police.'' Nonetheless, Xclan doesn't bore because chief lyricist Brother J. pumps new energy into rusty ideas. Witness the way he wields his commanding baritone: stuttering, pausing, and rising — milking his rhymes for dramatic tension. Even over forgettable (though very funky) music, Brother J. makes Xodus a trip worth taking. B