Konexion

by John BushCoinciding with the debut of the Incredible Hulk on the silver screen, Freddie Foxxx let loose with the second album under his furious alter ego, Bumpy Knuckles. The middle record in a trilogy, Konexion followed 2000s rap-game-hating Industry Shakedown as a work that would emphasize his connections to hip hop -- and, ostensibly, show how great a rapper he is. After a literate intro and the surprisingly restrained "Drop a Jewel," Knuckles wades in with fists swinging on "PAINE (Pressure at INdustry Expense)" and rarely lets up through the entire record. A supremely talented rapper, Foxx owns the authority of performance and righteous anger of Chuck D or KRS-One, making every track truly sound like a struggle between good and evil. Renegade tracks like "Me!" and "No I Ain't Wit It!" aren't just statements of purpose but of total dissent, and the productions -- gritty skull-busters from DJ Premier, Clark Kent, Hidden Agenda, and Dem Dudes -- back up every word he says.