Wade Waters

Knowing very little about Wade Waters, I contacted the internet in the pursuit of musical truthiness. Turns out Wade Waters’ group is made up of Chicago MC, Soulstice (who has a master’s degree in Engineering and works at the Department of Defense), and Haysoos, an MC/college professor at the University of Maryland. So, you’d be right in assuming this is fairly smart conscious rap, but what it isn’t is preachy, whiny or overly self-involved. "Wanna Be Free,” which weaves in and out of an exploration of America’s civil rights figures is a perfect example of that. Production from Shuko, Speaks and Analogix is solid, though not remarkable, as are guest spots from AZ and Cuban Link. Pick this up and help good hip-hop send the 50 Cents back to school to get their GEDs.