Kurious Majician (Red/Yellow)

By his early 20s, Kurious was already an in-demand voice on the mic.His 1994 major label debut album, A Constipated Monkey, is a classic ofit's style, marked by heavy beats and nimble rhymes that are razor-sharpyet frequently hilarious. Despite being hailed as one of hip-hop's mostcompelling lyricists, he didn't release another solo LP for the rest of thatdecade, but he continued to be sought after. Rap fans the world overknow him for his verse on"?." one of the standout songs from hislongtime friend and collaborator MF DOOM's heralded Operation:Doomsday.As he prepares for the release of his new album, Majician-thenickname his peers blessed him with a generation ago-Kurious is wellon his way to establishing the legacy he's long deserved. The LP, whichwas executive produced by MF DOOM before his passing, is amesmerizing blend of technical wizardry and personal introspection. Take"Eye of Horus," where the pulsing drums convey an urgency that borderson panic; Kurious weaves a complex tapestry of history and insight, butdoes so while ducking through and under each pocket in the beat.Produced in it's entirety by Mono en Stereo, Majician is filled withsongs like "Eye of Horus," which dance on the line between confessionand confrontation. "Separation Anxiety" is a personal bloodletting in theform of lyrical exercise; "Par For the Course," which features the elusiveMr. Fantastik, makes drum breaks from the early Reagan era soundtotally revitalized. Through the radical amount of work Kurious put intothe writing and recording of this material, he's removed all ambiguityfrom the question of whether he can stand as one of the premier MCs ofhis time.