Strange Fruit Project

Waco, TX trio Strange Fruit Project have prepared a near religious program for some serious spiritual cleansing in LP number three, aptly titled The Healing. Long-promoted as "not your typical Southern hip-hop group,” members Myone, Myth, Symbolyc One (S1) build on the template laid out by like-minded true-schoolers Little Brother (and, by extension, the Justus League), turning out heavily orchestrated, soul influenced, feel-good hip-hop awash in universal messages of self-progression through everyday struggle. SI’s well-crafted productions — from the string rich arpeggio runs of "Ready Forum,” through the Bay Area funk vibes of "Good Times” and culminating in churchly refrain of album closer "God Is” — offer more than enough good notes to groove to while the disc’s well-versed MCs oscillate between the club and the confessional. The aforementioned LB connection turns up on a few occasions, first with 9th Wonder providing what’s essentially a Little Brother track with a pair of (well equipped) substitute MCs in "Special,” before Phonte and Pooh add their weight to the Tribe-esque "Rise,” filling out a disc that should finally earn some broader recognition for group that should have blown up a long time ago.