Hip-hop masters Dilated Peoples is back with its third release, Neighborhood Watch, and members have a lot more to rap about than getting drunk in clubs.
The trio, made up of MCs Evidence and Rakaa and DJ Babu, based the album around their 'hoods in their hometown of Los Angeles.
"Everything else we've done has tried to show where we come from philosophically," Rakaa said on the Dilated Peoples Web site. "This record is about where we come from, literally."
The band began establishing itself in 1992 by freestyling in L.A.'s Hip-Hop Shop, but did not release its first album, The Platform, until 2000, which was shortly followed by its second release, Expansion Team, in 2001. Dilated Peoples said it hopes Neighborhood Watch will bring the band more recognition.
"It's a continuation of the Dilated Peoples sound," Evidence said on their Web site. "But at the same time, I feel it's a better record than the last two. I think it shows the power and timelessness of our music."
The album definitely sends powerful messages about poverty, politics and peace, and will keep hip-hop heads nodding tracks one through 14. "Big Business" is the most significant rhyme about American politics. The band questions whether the opposite of progress is Congress and whether war is only beneficial for big business.
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Dilated Peoples puts its all into every track on Neighborhood Watch instead of focusing on one or two big hits and using the rest of the album as a filler. They even collaborate with hip-hop artists, Defari, Phil Da Agony and Planet Asia for the song, "Closed Session."
With the explosion of hip-hop in the mainstream, Dilated Peoples has stayed somewhat underground. Although the group could be somewhere in between West Coast and underground as Rakaa rhymes "I'm an underground cat, but still like money and cars," in the track "Caffeine." Still, the Peoples stay true to their hip-hop roots in Neighborhood Watch as it throws down sick beats and fresh rhymes throughout the album.
But ladies, don't look to be swooned by this one. The members' only comment on relationships is a song titled, "Dangerous," in which they rhyme, "She's dangerous/she'll treat your heart like Toys 'R' Us."
Although vocally, Evidence and Rakaa are not strong enough to stand alone like artists Q-Tip or Common, together they work well. DJ Babu's talent on the tables adds a lot to the album. The last track, "DJ Babu in Concentration" is a mix of smooth samples, claps and scratches.
It's hard to pick up all of the intelligent lyrics on the album upon the first hearing of Neighborhood Watch, but after a few listens the band's energy can be felt and its message can be understood.
