Torrentz

A collaborative group born of the Nerdcore Now forums, Torrentz live up to the title of their sophomore album with a roster of collaborators representing at least the U.S., England and Australia, but the core membership is the quartet of rapper/producers Milk-Plus, Klopfenpop and Fatback Supreme, plus newest member XoC. The quality control is quite high, especially when it comes to the production and engineering. The beats — a varied mix that includes boom-bap, rock-rap hybrids, downtempo, ska and drum & bass — are crisp and clean, mostly radio hit-ready. The tracks are usually conceptual, many with nerdy subject matter — faves include "Boomtime Hustle," a speak-easy rap about selling booze during prohibition; "Holodexxx," a sexualized ode to Star Trek: TNG's holodeck technology; and groovy summer jam "Heatwave Killa," XoC's lyrics about being stuck on a sweltering hot NYC subway some of the best on the album. However, at 20 tracks long, Nerdcore International begins to wear thin towards the end, even with the variety of styles and the plethora of guests. Still, Nerdcore International has the grooves to be more than just another underground rap record despite the nerdy subject matter.