Tru-Paz

Tru-Paz hope to bring together the street and the club with up-tempo, socially conscious riddims. DJ Unknown samples the ethnic sounds of the world to complement Boozy’s smooth, soulful rapping and singing, giving Tru-Paz their distinct, reggae-inflected hip-hop style. Third member Akim brings the raw lyrics as the lead MC. The trio come off as comfortable in their sound, although the tendency towards reggae does wear thin before the end of the album. Or maybe it’s all that social commentary. Not to slight one of the few hip-hop groups to speak out on issues, it’s just that State of Emergency is a heavy album, if not always negative. And it doesn’t really boom or bap, but instead extends hip-hop to embrace organic sounds and soulful singing. In fact, at times Tru-Paz are only barely rooted in hip-hop, with "Feel This” being their most straight-forward attempt. If only one of them was female, Tru-Paz could be the next Fugees.