Politic Live

It's been six years since the last proper Politic Live album — the critically acclaimed Adaptation — but they haven't been slacking. In the interim, they have been pushing their label, Music For Mavericks, and the artists on it, as well as scrapping and reworking their original Ellipsis EP, which was to be released in 2009. While it made for a longer wait, it's hard to argue with the results. The 13-track Ellipsis is rooted in hip-hop, but with heavy overtones of rock, reggae, R&B and jazz. Their choice to eschew samples for live instrumentation over most of the album helps blend these sounds more naturally. Rappers Arlo Maverick, Dirt Gritie and Bigga Nolte, alongside an abundance of guests, including regular contributors Oozeela, KazMega and members of Juno-nominated reggae artists Souljah Fyah, criticize social ills and political injustices ("Babylon System"), describe the effects of poor parenting ("Letters") and mock hip-hop clichés ("Irony & Clichés"). With "Pusha Man" and "Me & My...," they also reinterpret songs by Ice-T and Tupac, respectively. While Ellipsis isn't breaking new ground, it's a successful and enjoyable merging of genres.