CD Reviews

Peanut Butter Wolf Presents 2K8: B-Ball Zombie War

Stones throw

By NICK SYLVESTER | December 3, 2007

2.0 Stars

Stones Throw’s latest label comp, 2K8, celebrates the indie hip-hop imprint’s deal with 2K8 Sports, who put out all those 2K video games for Xbox and PlayStation. Can’t knock these instrumentals. Producers Madlib and J Dilla dominate the mix’s sound with dusty disjointed soulfunk beats, but there’s also room for other sounds, and for the sounds of others: Rubinesque rock rap (“Break It Down”), early-’80s electro (“Professor X Saga,” “Bass Creator’s Groove”), space-age breaks (“Super Sound”), retro-future throwbacks reminiscent of mid-tempo Rick James (PBW’s remix of “Ka$H”). The MC roster, however, is largely Stones Throw B-list — Guilty Simpson, M.E.D., Oh No — and though these guys can ride a beat, they have trouble mustering anything of consequence. Even heavy-hitters MF Doom, Talib Kweli, Q-Tip, and Percee P merely turn up truisms best left tuned out — not too difficult to do with a controller in your hand.

Related: Aesop Rock, On the racks: August 22, Fakts One, More

Topics: CD Reviews , Entertainment, Hip-Hop and Rap, Music, More

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