Relax Relate Release
El Da Sensei, of the much missed duo theArtifacts, played a major role in the development of "backpack rap," the mid-'90s music of choice for many a young hip-hop head. Along with the dissolution of brother actOrganized Konfusion, the Artifacts' 1997 split dealt a blow to the genre's vitality, and while the sound never really died, it surely went underground.Relax Relate Release, El's first full-length release in five years, puts an updated spin on many of the same B-boy themes and mad shout-outs to New Jerusalem (a.k.a. New Jersey) that made instant classics of Artifacts' tunes such as the graff-oriented "Wrong Side of the Tracks." Production by the likes of new-jack indie hip-hop heroes J. Rawls and Shawn J. Period reinforce the "old to the new" continuum, while the appearance of Organized Konfusion's Pharoahe Monch and Prince Po (on the intriguing "Frontline") brings the family full circle.--Rebecca Levine