Obelisk Movements [Audio CD] Micranots

As if time-warped from the early '90s, Atlanta's Micranots--I Self Divine and DJ Kool Akiem--deliver complex, conscious rhymes over thick, fuzzy, heavy-snare-kick beats. It's easy to forget that stirring music still lurks in the underground, but Obelisk Movements is a potent reminder of the power of music to be not only sonically compelling, but also spiritually moving. On "Analyze," I Self Divine drops revisionist history lessons: "I'm Jesus / No need for churches / I read Malcolm, Frantz Fanon outcomes / I got a complex, hypocrite, outdone / Analyze." "Illegal Busyness" is a grounded, vicious assault on inner-city drug economies, while "Queen Supreme" pays respect to the strength of black women--their mothers get a paean, too ("Mother's Day"). With their combination of knowledge of self and boom bap, the Micranots evoke the early work of KMD, Blackalicious, and Freestyle Fellowship. Be warned--they come with a pure black whirlwind. --Jon Caramanica