I was jamming some Slotek the other day, wondering how it was that hip-hop wandered into the wilderness in the decades since. Truthfully, I I'm not confused about that. Pop music demands declawing and assimilation. Even Kendrick Lamar isn't the innovator he once was--but that's way beside the point. Underground hip-hop has never been the sound du jour. THAT is the point.

Oddatee Rabbit Season (KdB Records/Atypeek Music)

Oddateee is a straight throwback to the Wordsound industrial-hop complex. And yes, he's from New York and even hangs with Dalek. So . . . yeah. That's not much of a stretch. It's all coming together now.

The focus is as much on the music as the rhymes. Perhaps a better way to put it is that the music informs the rhymes. The context provided by the beats and noise creates a context for the verbal violence that follows. Oddateee is not the most nimble of rappers, but he has a wide vocabulary and isn't afraid to wade in to a mess and try to swim his way out.

So, yes, if you remember Def Jux, Mush, Wordsound and that whole 2000-ish New York scene, Oddateee is proud to claim the mantle of bastard child. This sound has never been particularly popular, and I doubt Oddateee will change that. But I'm down with the noise. Embrace the grime and don't forget the Ibuprofen.

Jon Worley