KRS-One and Marley Marl

The Blastmaster teams with foe-turned-friend Marley Marl to breathe life into the dying corpse of hip-hop. "Hip-Hop Lives” is the obvious first sign of life, an entertaining and educational lesson that you must learn. That said, the album provides nothing new in the way of subject matter, with KRS preaching that rap needs to be respected as a culture. Marley’s production, steeped as it is in hip-hop’s old school heyday, still manages to engage the ears. The beats percolate, with the horns on "Musika” sounding like a kettle about to reach the boiling point. As usual, KRS-One puts himself near every major hip-hop event in the last couple decades on "I Was There.” Nothing here will bowl you over. Yes, thug music sells and killing a rapper seems like a good way to get away with murder but what else is new? KRS remains on point lyrically and if his message still matters, you already have this album. (Koch)