10 New York Hip Hop Albums, Mixtapes, EPs Worth Hearing [June 2011]

Brown Bag AllStars - Brown Bag Season Album

Brown Bag AllStars
Brown Bag Season Volume One [Double album]
The Brown Bag AllStars are a collective of MCs, DJs and producers who, both separately and together, hearken back to . (Group members include The Audible Doctor [MC/Producer], J57 [MC/Producer], Soul Khan [MC], Koncept [MC], DeeJay Element [DJ/Producer], E holla [DJ] & DJ Goo [DJ/Producer]). 1990s hip hop, Fat Beats Records and NYC college radio influences ooze throughout this 2-disc, 37(!)-track collection of songs, instrumentals and remixes, and though it may seem like an awful lot of music to want to digest at one time, before you know it, you’ll happily overindulge on the head-nodding beats, thoughtful lyrics, precise cuts and verbal camaraderie that the Brown Bag AllStars deliver. Stand out tracks include “League of Intoxicated Gentlemen,” (a phrase I borrowed at a recent bachelor party weekend), “The Agenda,” the state-of-hip-hop-union “See Again,” the energetic, “Nod Ya Head To This”-reminiscent “Dumbin Out,” and the wonderful DJ Brace remix of “Got It All.”