producers: j. rawls, j. sands.

Expectations can definitly be both a positive and a hinderence when dealing with albums...no? I remember when I was anticipating Mos Def's solo album, I vividly recall saying that either one of two things were going to happen due to my past experiences wit Mos, he was going to either drop a nice, but un-memorable album, or a really tight collection of songs. I was certainly glad it was the latter. I have to admit that my expectations were similiar when concerning the Lone Catalysts. After having had the opportunity to run across a few snippets of Lone Cat 12's in the form of real audio, I definitly had high hopes for the album. So which category did it fall in you ask? Well, sorta in between.

The first thing that heads will take notice of is the more 'bounce' that is prevalent in J Rawls production (ala Jay Dee), which is definitly a nice touch in my eyes. The beats remain very vibe-induced, giving a very dope cool out feeling, with nice rugged drums to top it all off.

The first track starts things off something lovely, as the neck snapping drums weave with the subdued keys to spark a nice head boppin' tone, yet clocks in at only 1:22. The title track "Hip Hop" has J-Sands (the verbal half of the Lone Catalysts) tryin his hand at the beatwork, and turns in a decent effort, but loses points for using the same sample the Jungle Brothers flipped on a song on their "Raw Deluxe" album, and again, clocking in at a very short 2:03. "Place To Be" has a really nice vibe, but yet again, suffers from a sample that Tribe flipped on "Peoples Instinctive Travels".

These are really the biggest qualms one could have about this album, as J-Rawls for the most part, comes through with some very solid beatwork, and at times, shows promise at becoming one of the top producers in the game. J-Sands, while showing that he can deliver his brand of emceeing in an engaging light, really suffers from a tendency to get basic / simple in his lyrics. His heart definitly comes through in his rhymes, and he shows genuine love for hip hop, but his wordplay and vocab could definitly benefit from a little work. Again, Lone Cats can bring some heat when things gel, as exhibited on "Ayanna Monet," where the grooved beat establishes a foundation for which J-Sands to spit a tale about a female. Talib Kweli makes his presence felt on "Due Process," and the album includes a nice surprise at the end, as a multitude of joints from their various 12 inches make their way onto the album in the form of hidden tracks....very nice touch [mck2 reviewed the US version, the tracklisting is from the international version - ed.].

All in all, the Lone Catalysts have delivered a solid hip hop album. The clear strength in the group is J-Rawls, as his production sets moods and manages to move tracks right along. J-Sands is a decent enough mc, and with a little more touching up on his verbiage, could complement his partner's production even moreso than he currently is. But definitly make no mistake, if every artist's love for hip hop shined through like it does on this album, hip hop would be that much greater of an art form.