Ricca Razor Sharp & The Equazn

As opening track "Opposites Attract" reveals, shaggy rap bum Ricca Razor Sharp and self-employed computer nerd the Equazn (or the EQ) use the common ground of hip-hop to explore their differences with this collaboration. A veteran battle rapper, the EQ can flow, and he proves that with fast raps on "Procrastination" and "Funk The Bank," but he sometimes sounds out of his depth on Mantrakid's mid-'90s-influenced party jams, which could very well make up a Ricca solo album if not for the heavy mic presence of the EQ. However, as much as this is Ricca's show, the EQ does steal the spotlight momentarily for a touching tale of multi-generational immigration over a melancholy new age beat for "Land of Chances," a perfect counterpoint to exciting, energetic songs like "The Anthem," "The Message" and "Break The Mold." It would be great to hear more beats like those latter ones from Mantrakid. And with hardly any downtime among the album's ten tracks, Opposites Attract is the right choice to get a house party started or to act as a hype-builder for those nights out.