Heavy Rhyme Experience: Vol. 1

THE BRAND NEW HEAVIES Heavy Rhyme Experience: Vol. 1 (Delicious Vinyl) Last year, a segment of MTV's Unplugged showed that rappers like L.L. Cool J and De La Soul could forsake samples and turntables for a live band and still cook; Heavy Rhyme Experience: Vol. 1 takes that concept to the next level. The idea: Have a bunch of rappers do their thing with the Brand New Heavies, a British funk group that knows its way around congas, wah-wah guitars, and slinky organs. The results: a jumping hip-hop album on which everyone from dancehall rapper Tiger to streetwise cutups Black Sheep meshes beautifully with the Brand New Heavies' '70s black-exploitation-movie grooves. A band may never be a substitute for a pulverizing drum sample, but tracks like Kool G. Rap's gangsta tale ''Death Threat'' prove that rap played by live musicians can slam nearly as hard as anything out of Compton. B+ -DB