3001: A Laced Odyssey

Following a string of gritty underground mixtapes and collaborations with titans like RZA, Brooklyn rappers (and Joey Bada$$ affiliates) Flatbush Zombies release their first official album. Channelling the surrealistic violence that made Wu-Tang Clan a phenomenon in the '90s (and continues to play out through the supersaturated wordplay of guys like Earl Sweatshirt), <i>3001</i> is murky and dense but highly colourful too, led by the septic growl of Meechy Darko and the casually sinister beats of Erick the Architect. Special mention goes to “Bounce,” the soulful “A Spike Lee Joint” and the mob music of “Ascension,” where Meechy declares time an illusion one minute and talks gunplay the next.