Deep Down & Dirty
Deep Down & Dirtyis the fourth album from the Stereo MC's, though it could easily be their 10th, given the number of tracks that have hit the cutting-room floor in the intervening years. And yet just one listen to it makes it seem as if the U.K.'s premier crossover hip-hop act have never been away. The album's title track and lead single find rapper Rob Birch back in inspired form, freestyling those positive vibes over filthy, irresistible funk. "We Belong in This World Together" is a huge sing-along anthem; "Breeze" is dubbed-up urban soul with swirling atmospherics and Vocoder mumblings; "Traffic" is a colossal, up-front groove that culminates with Birch declaring, "It ain't easy, it ain't easy." Clearly not, but you'd never know from listening to this record.--Mike Pattenden