Intricate Minds

While the obvious draw to this Intricate Minds twelve-inch is the production by Stones Throw star Oh No on "To the Letter,” it actually ends up being the least appealing of the three tracks found here. The four rappers — Justin Crates, Profound Sound, Synaptix and Versatile — are decent and the bass certainly stands out, but the track quickly becomes repetitive and boring. Justin Crates does better with his production on the other two tracks. The samples on "Your Neighbourhood” somehow combine to give the song a Hawaiian luau feel, while Intricate Minds break down their hip-hop credentials and brag about how they will "rock your neighbourhood.” Crates then smooths things out with the piano-laced "Do Not Enter,” a skills-testing ode to the recording studio. The MCs are not flawless with their flows, although they do display an impressive level of comfort with each other; together for more than eight years, the members of Intricate Minds work well together and sound similar but different enough to differentiate between each member. Maybe not mind-blowing, Intricate Minds have still created a smooth twelve-inch to chill to, but hopefully their full-length will have a little more variety.