Tony Touch

Aside from Kid Capri, it's debatable whether anyone else has commanded more respect on the mixed tape circuit than Tony Touch. In making this jump to earning legal tender, he joins the ranks of other DJs who have copped record deals and put on fifty of their closest rhyming friends. Of course Tony Toca was one of the first to do this; his 50 MCs mix tape is acknowledged as a legendary contraband issue. For The Piece Maker, Touch maintains and builds on his established formula and doesn't bow to the temptation to cover his bases by tapping the hottest MC in every geographical region. The Piece Maker maintains Touch's New York-centric feel and features particularly stellar contributions from Gang Starr, D.I.T.C and Mos Def in Spanglish mode on "What's That? (Que Eso?)." The touches of variety include the dancehall of "P.R. All Stars" and nods to his Taino heritage. That said, there's no overarching unifying element here except straight-ahead mic ripping and hard-hitting beats, but then again it's much better than many recent similarly styled compilations.