Question in the Form of an Answer
On People Under the Stairs' sophomore album, after 1999'sThe Next Step, debut producer and MC Thes One promises in the liner notes, "We'll keep making that '93-style hip-hop with that '73-style funk till 2033." Trying to fulfill that guarantee, onQuestion in the Form of an AnswerPUTS digs up obscure funk loops and breaks, staying true to an underground tradition that emphasizes neck-breaking beats and high-caliber lyricism. The formula is transparent at times, perhaps a little too obvious, but it's hard not to like their new-school influence, whether in the form of puff-chested braggadocio ("Yehaw Partystyles") or superfunky spy fantasies ("Suite for Creeper").--Oliver Wang