Kail

Though often criticized for interrupting the music's flow, hip hop skits are an extension of the album's art -- and more excitingly so for reaching into the audio itself. Granted, there are good and bad skits just like there are disappointing songs and artwork. But the sight of a handful of "interludes" on the tracklist to NWA's Efil4zaggin, for example, doesn't lower my expectations.

LA rapper Kail clearly shares this view. His debut, True Hollywood Squares, is a concept album formatted around, yes, the dubious game show its title references. To understand how this structure supports the music, imagine the rigorous narrative of Prince Paul's hip-hopera, A Prince Among Thieves, applied to the gameshow that links the songs from De la Soul's Three Feet High and Rising (also produced by Paul and commonly credited for introducing the skit to rap albums). Here, we get the character development of the former and the whimsy of the latter: an impressive feat.

Musically, True Hollywood Squares is further rooted in hip hop's golden-age. Though synthesizer blips one might associate with grime turn up in the mix, the conservative snap of the beats (this album is nearly untouched by IDM and glitch) recalls a time when breakbeats were the most radical sound on MTV. Though Kail has been called his generation's Ice Cube, on "Jon Booboo" his nasal twang and off-kilter wit remind this listener of Cube's cousin, Del tha Funkee Homosapien. The difference? Kail's flow is more conversational and not as concerned with tongue-twisted rhythms.