A-Plus (or Adam Carter, as his family probably knows him) has been creating and producing since forever. And this album seems like it's been out forever--I've been listening to it for almost a year. I still can't get my mind around, but it's time to jettison a review nonetheless.

A-Plus Think Tank (Hieroglyphics Imperium)

As a member of Souls of Mischief and the Hieroglyphics, A-Plus solidified his hip-hop cred. And while those collectives received major distribution, the sounds they propagated have faded to the underground. Somehow hop-hop became something other than fun.

This largely instrumental album is a blast. The beats are light, yet insistent. The sounds are tuneful and buoyant. These aren't unknown ideas, but they're definitely underground today. Which is too bad.

Combined with Molly's Dirty Water, a more electronic-influenced effort that came out about a year ago, A-Plus has laid down two great albums that still sound fresh and exciting after a year's worth of listening.

This is probably not the future of hip-hop or anything like that, but if albums like this are merely the future of A-Plus, I will be a happy man.

Jon Worley