Masterminds

Having dropped some very tasty singles on the underground market over the past few years, Kimani, Oracle and Epod drop their latest offering, The Underground Railroad. As well as including previously released bangers like the soothing and mellow "Onetwothree" and the body rocking "Bring It Back," included on last year's Live From Area 51 EP, the group's new material accordingly builds on their previous efforts and also takes on a broader focus. MC Kimani particularly affirms the underground steelo with a verse on opening track "Liberty," dissing pop stars, and "Seven," a hard-hitting posse cut, welcomes J-Live and El-Producto, of Company Flow, among others into the cipher. The consistent beats and rhymes by the group are by no means mind-blowing, but their chemistry holds things together and gels well on the more reflective entries. "2025" muses on a predicted paucity of hip-hop in the future, "Day One" addresses historical injustices and "Memories" finds Kimani dealing with the death of his father, making this effort impressive and well-rounded.