Global Takeover

Best known for his work as a member of The Artifacts (with Tame One and DJ Kaos) during the '90s, Newark emcee El Da Sensei has two legitimate classic singles on his resume: "Wrong Side of the Tracks" and "C'mon Wit Da Git Down." Though The Artifacts broke up in 1997, El has remained busy ever since, continuing to perform and releasing a steady stream of solid (if slept-on) new material, including Relax, Relate, Release, The Unusual, and Unheard Of. He's also been doing truly impressive collaborations with the Polish crew The Returners (Little and DJ Chwial), who produce every track here, giving El a lush backdrop of undeniably funky, thickly layered, scratch-laced beats befitting his golden-era pedigree. From the opening intro throughout 11 tracks, the B-boy vibe is in full effect, with a cacophony of banging drums, fluid bass lines, and bright horn loops perfectly complementing the reliably dope wordplay. Pretty much every jam on here's nice, though "Hard to Find," "Got Fire," and "It's Not That Way" are especially great.