Triple Crown
(Babygrande/Koch) Once upon a time, Philadelphia's Mountain Brothers were affiliated with a major label. As the story goes, the corporate suits wanted the trio to foreground its Asian heritage and thus turn itself into a modern-day novelty act. To their credit, Chops, Styles Infinite and Peril-L squashed that idea, resulting in the dissolution of the deal. Triple Crown is the sound of three men asserting their gritty East Coast roots, regardless of skin color. On "Yes Yes," Styles traces his love affair with hip-hop, telling us that "Like Common I used to love her, but then we spent some time apart." Lucky for fans of rugged indie fare, the MBs are back in the game, calling out the competition for another round of combat. Beatwise, Triple Crown treads a well-worn landscape of jazz loops, synth stabs and mad scratches, an appropriately grim foundation for the MBs' harsh battle floetry. Put 'em up.Martin Turenne--From URB Magazine