The third EP in Third Ear’s superlative Detroit Beatdown series couldn’t get off to a better start as Toni Oliveira aka Ibex [Transmat, Planet E and his own Ibex imprint] invokes the spirit of original rappers the Last Poets to make a defiant, stirring proclamation about what’s going on. The impassioned positive rap rears out of a sublime jazz-techno groove: the overall effect is one of the strongest social statements to emerge from Detroit for some time. Keith Worthy [Aesthetic Audio] keeps the tempo to 120bpm with a captivatingly-resonant funky shuffle before Norm Talley hooks up with Chicago’s Doc Link and vocalists Lorie Caval and E-Man to create the floor-seducing classic house burn of ‘Sexy. Finally, Exchange Bureau meet Ubiquity Records’ John Arnold for the B-movie jazz-electro-house of ‘Spookie Dookie’! None of these tracks are extravagant or over-cooked, just glow with proper Detroit soul to make an essential EP.
5 Out Of 5
Reviewed By: Kris Needs
