Only a week after the release of the long-anticipated debut from West Coast bright lights Dilated Peoples, the inimitable People Under The Stairs grace us with another gem. Dropping the aforementioned crew's frowning hip-hop gravity in favour of simple rhymes and complex jazz-driven beats, PUTS make cuts for your party, your summer holiday, cuts that even your girlfriend nods her head to! And there ain't nuthin wrong with that.
Despite the purists' insistence on knocking the likes of Jurassic 5, PUTS, and others with a little sunshine in their step, anyone who ever gave jazz-lick masters like Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Brand Nubian, Main Source and the DITC crew their dues will recognise where this album is coming from and where it sits in the hip hop continuum.
The reason why this qualifies as one of the year's best hip hop releases so far is simple. These boys are crate diggers whose production style is informed more by their love of dusty records than the urge to bite the latest beats on the block. For more confirmation check Double K's final dedication on the sleeve notes: "To my beautiful, illustrious, remarkable,
top-choice crates that I call friends. I respect, love and cherish the joy you plastic funk holders bring." Brilliant!
The sheer volume of quality tracks here is phenomenal and testament to PUTS' generous funky spirit, these fellas believe in sharing the funk - let's hope some patient soul cleared all the samples. Truly, a record to reckon with the genre's 92-94 heyday and one that you should not live without.
by James Poletti