But what an assortment: Here's your chance to rediscover the growling charisma of Nine's ''Whutcha Want?'' (the rapper sounds like DMX's father), the funky spring of B-Rock & the Bizz's ''MyBabyDaddy,'' the lickety-split rhyming of Fu-Schnickens' ''La Schmoove,'' and the techno-hop of Souls of Mischief's ''93 Till Infinity.''
Toss in tracks by period stars like A Tribe Called Quest (the still-funny ''I Left My Wallet in El Segundo'') and Coolio (the call-to-dance ''[1, 2, 3, 4] Sumpin' New''), and the result is a collection that emphasizes nimble wordplay, positive thinking, and ear-grabbing musicality, traits that have only recently resurfaced with Mos Def and relative veteran Common. I count only one ''bitch'' and one gun-revenge fantasy on the whole thing, and one of the few handgun references amounts to Poor Righteous Teachers' advice to ''keep ya pistol in ya pocket'' on their genuinely unstoppable ''Rock Dis Funky Joint.''
Add your comment
The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.