Rating: NNN
There’s no shortage of talent on hand for the debut LP of the Mighty Underdogs, a West Coast indie hip-hop supergroup made up of Blackalicious rapid rhyme ripper Gift of Gab, Lateef the Truth Speaker (of Latryx notoriety) and bass-beating producer Headnodic.
Having three creative forces acting on the music from different angles leads to frequent twists, turns and stylistic shifts – showing they can roll like Dr. Octagon one minute and Sly Stone the next. But it also makes finding a focus a huge challenge and even Gab’s verbal virtuosity grows tiresome when delivered in relentless barrages. The fact that they bring in their celeb friends (MF Doom, Lyrics Born, Mr. Lif, Casual, DJ Shadow, etc) for cameos on just about every track takes them even further from establishing a coherent Mighty Underdogs sound.
Top track: Science Fiction
