88-Keys

Back when Rawkus represented the holy ground of underground hip-hop divinity and "neo soul" was the hot new descriptor rolling off the tongues of the masses, humble beatsmith and self-professed Polo obsessive 88-Keys was quickly finding his name in all the right places. But after all but disappearing for the better part of the '00s, the triple threat producer makes a startling return with his comical new concept disc, The Death Of Adam. Flexing his vocal chords as a singer/MC and pushing creativity to the max, 88 tells the story of an unlucky player who suffers first-degree burns to most of his game, laying out the tale verse-by-verse over an inspiring musical mishmash of sunshiny pop ("Morning Wood"), slick soul beats ("Close Call") and Devo-referencing retro rock ("The Friends Zone"). With touches of close pal Kanye in his flow, the ambitious Gothamite holds his own beside guests Phonte, J'Davey and West, sending a much needed high elbow to hip-hop's imaginative chops with this entirely unexpected offering.