One (1992)

Me Phi Me -- lumped in with the currently hot ''alternative'' rappers -- earns his spot in the hip-hop Hall of Fame by virtue of duetting mano a mano with wimp jazzbo singer Michael Franks on ''(Think) Where Are You Going?'' Keeping samples to a minimum, Me uses acoustic guitars, chunky bass lines, country-blues harmonicas, and smiley-faced poetry to soft-pedal his message of African-American self-determination. Nowhere is this more apparent than on the driving groove ''Keep It Goin''' and the lushly low-key single ''Sad New Day.'' Me's delivery tends to be flat, and his well-intentioned positivity vibe brings him thisclose to being the homeboy Norman Vincent Peale. That aside, ''One'' is a feast of genre morphing that embraces and redefines stock musical cliches.