The Hilarious Livestock & Leon Murphy

After dropping some dead weight, Guelph, ON crew Plague Language return to the scene with a new EP from Livestock. The "Hilarious” part of his moniker must be ironic, considering he’s a rather serious MC whether he’s rapping about the horrid state of contemporary hip-hop or the even worse state of the world as a whole, sometimes bringing conspiracy theories into the equation. Livestock holds his own over the CD’s seven tracks, but the lone guest appearance from his Train Rawbers partner, Noah 23 — the face of PL and one of Canada’s best, most underrated MCs — threatens to outshine him with the opening verse of "Anarcho-Taoists.” Producer Leon Murphy provides a backdrop of dark, mid-tempo headnodders that suit the style and subject matter of Livestock, with the exception of the sombre "The Rawganic,” which falls a little early in the song sequencing, slowing the otherwise enjoyable flow of the CD. The banging bonus track that ends the album, "In the Last Days,” is produced by DJ Learn-ed Hand but it fits the mould of Murphy’s production. The final five tracks are what makes Rawganic a good, if short, release, but it deserves a much better presentation.