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THE OWNERZ
(VIRGIN)
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Guru and Premier — a/k/a Gangstarr — once again deliver solid, streetwise beats and prose with their sixth studio album, a return to form that’s worth the four years it took them to finish it. The disc features some of the best work these hip-hop veterans have dropped since their 1989 sophomore classic, Step in the Arena. Premier vents some of his anger at the current state of hip-hop radio in an intro to "Peace of Mine"; "That’s some faggot bitch shit y’all are listening to, all you DJs are letting the program directors handcuff you — you fuckin’ robots," he fumes over the phone before Guru’s hard-hitting beats kick into gear. Later, on "Deadly Habitz," Guru takes aim at the shady side of the record business and its "managers coked-up and A&Rs doped-up." The duo open with "Put Up or Shut Up," a track built around a retro Shaft bass line and a simple beat that coolly supports Guru’s patented monotone flow. What’s ironic, given Guru’s feelings toward radio programmers, is that The Ownerz has already spawned a few heavy-rotation singles: the smooth and catchy "Skills" and "Nice Girl Wrong Place" and the quirkier "Rite Where You Stand," which has a bouncy, off-kilter piano loop and a cameo by former P. Diddy minion Judakiss. Guru also demonstrates that he can adapt his flow for the new millennium on "Sabatoge," a track heavy with slick contempo beats. Gangstarr even play host to a host of guest MCs, including Fat Joe, Snoop Dogg, M.O.P, and Freddie Foxxx. But no one overshadows Guru’s beats and Premier’s flow.
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