Push Comes to Shove

by John BushA subsidiary member of a family that includes Madlib (an Oxnard friend for years) and Peanut Butter Wolf, MED (previously Medaphoar) has to live up to high expectations to earn the Stones Throw logo that adorns the sleeve of his debut album. Push Comes to Shove also has a production cast that any underground rapper (and a few major-label rappers) would kill for -- Madlib on 13 of the album's 18 tracks, plus Jay Dee on two others and the certifiably commercial Just Blaze for one. MED has a little talent for rhymes and good flow, but that's the limit of his ability, and his tracks often tend to played-out hardcore with a few extra feet to his lines and no memorable hooks. So, it's the production that drives these tracks, leaving the raps as merely the window dressing. Listeners will easily recall the vocoder and tooting horn sampled for "Hold Your Breath," but they may have trouble remembering any of MED's lines on the track. The guest features also provide some necessary distraction, such as fellow Stones Throw members Dudley Perkins ("U Know") and Oh No ("Serious"). Plenty of rap fans consider every release on Stones Throw to be an essential purchase, but this may change their minds.