Hangar 18

The title of their debut album may drip with sarcasm, but even if it may not go multi-platinum, Hangar 18 have an underground classic on their hands. This is surely good news for Definitive Jux, which has been releasing a lot of duds recently. The Hangar fits in with the best of what the label has to offer, thanks to their El-P-influenced experiments in noisy future-funk, as filtered through the mind of group producer paWL, and 21st Century b-boy raps from Atoms Family members, Windnbreez and Alaska. It’s a perfect match all around. Although both "Easier Said Than Done” and "Take No Chances” cross the line into cheese, the addition of morse code into the beat of the latter prevents the song from being a total write-off. At least Wind and Alaska are still on point for both tracks. But the three do their best work when the tempo is faster, as on the dancey "Go Git That,” the cowbell-heavy "Saved By the Beezy,” and the perfect chase-scene beatscape of "Where We At?” It’s also nice to hear Sadat X do his thing on "Sadat X Appears Courtesy of…,” but Hangar 18 thankfully kept the guest vocals to just that one. Any bets on how long Def Jux will maintain the current level of quality control?